What share of UK food shops & convenience retailers have a 5-star food hygiene rating?

71.2% of UK food shops & convenience retailers hold the top 5-star Food Standards Agency hygiene rating — 62,419 of 87,636 rated premises in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — with an average rating of 4.51 out of 5. That is below the all-business-type UK average of 78.2%. Data as of 2026-06-12.

How many UK food shops & convenience retailers have a low (0 or 1 star) hygiene rating?

3% of rated UK food shops & convenience retailers (2,657 premises) score 0 or 1 star, the FSA's lowest bands. A low share here means most lower-rated premises sit at 3–4 stars, not at the bottom.

What do UK food shops & convenience retailers score worst on at inspection?

Across the FSA's three inspection components — Hygiene (food handling), Structural (cleanliness and condition) and Confidence in Management — UK food shops & convenience retailers score worst, relative to each band, on cleanliness & structure. Lower component scores are better; this reflects where inspectors most often note room for improvement, not unsafe food.

UK Food shops & convenience retailers Food Hygiene Ratings 2026

Quick answer

71.2% of UK food shops & convenience retailers hold the top 5-star food hygiene rating.

Across 87,636 rated food shops & convenience retailers, 62,419 (71.2%) carry the maximum 5-star Food Standards Agency rating and the average rating is 4.51 out of 5. That is below the all-business-type UK average of 78.2% (-7 percentage points). 3% (2,657) score 0 or 1 star.

Rating distribution

Every one of the 87,636 rated food shops & convenience retailers, by their 0–5 Food Hygiene Rating.

5 — Very good

62,419 (71.2%)

4 — Good

14,715 (16.8%)

3 — Generally satisfactory

5,948 (6.8%)

2 — Improvement necessary

1,897 (2.2%)

1 — Major improvement necessary

2,373 (2.7%)

0 — Urgent improvement necessary

284 (0.3%)

Where food shops & convenience retailers score worst

The FSA scores three things at every inspection. Each bar is the mean sub-score for food shops & convenience retailers — lower is better (0 = no issues found). Computed over 87,163 rated premises that carried all three sub-scores.

Hygiene (food handling, storage, cooking)2.9 / 25

Structural (cleanliness, layout, condition)4 / 25

Confidence in management (record-keeping, controls)4.3 / 30

For food shops & convenience retailers, the component dragging ratings down most — relative to its own scoring band — is cleanliness & structure. A higher sub-score there means more inspections flagged that area for improvement. It does not mean the food is unsafe: only 3% of rated food shops & convenience retailers sit at 0–1 star.

Compare

UK Food Hygiene by Business Type 2026 — all 14 categories ranked, restaurants vs takeaways and more.
The State of UK Restaurant Hygiene 2026 — national pass rate, best and worst local authorities.
UK Food Hygiene Ratings Directory — search the full dataset by local authority and postcode.
GeraCompliance — food safety and regulatory checks for businesses.

Methodology

Figures are computed directly from the Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) public register, restricted to premises the FSA classifies as "Retailers - other" in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that carry a published 0–5 rating (87,636 premises). Percentages are over rated premises only. Scotland's separate FHIS pass/fail scheme is excluded so the five-star metric stays comparable. The average rating is the count-weighted mean of the 0–5 ratings. The three component sub-scores are the FSA's own Hygiene (0–25), Structural (0–25) and Confidence-in-Management (0–30) bands, where a lower score is better; the means shown are count-weighted over premises carrying all three. No figures are estimated or modelled. Food hygiene data © Crown copyright, Food Standards Agency, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data as of 2026-06-12.