In our daily lives, food hygiene isn’t much of a concern. We trust that our favourite restaurants are sanitary and that the food is properly prepared, when we order a medium-rare steak or raw fish. And even though about a million people suffer from food-borne illness in the U.K. each year, food poisoning isn’t at the forefront of our minds. But maybe it should be.

That’s why the Food Hygiene Rating System (FHRS) is in place. Using a scale of 0 to 5, establishments that serve food – hospitals, restaurants, takeaways, hotels, and grocery shops – are ranked based on factors related to hygiene. The data, which are collected by the Food Standards Agency, indicate which establishments are the cleanest and dirtiest.

So to see how much weight these ratings truly carry, we compared locations, averages of ratings, and the different types of businesses that serve food. These geographical trends showed us we which regions in the U.K. have the highest concentration of low hygiene conditions and ratings. Read on to see if your area passes inspection.

A Look at Food Safety Across the U.K.


In using the FHRS system, we colour-coded each classification and plotted each business on a map; more than half of the businesses appear to have good or higher hygiene standards. Based on the data, 63 percent had a rating of 5 (very good), while another 21 percent had a rating of 4 (good). Only 3 percent of businesses needed improvement with a rating of 2, and less than 1 percent needed urgent improvements with a rating of 0. Reasons for these scores were not explicitly given. However, they could be related to bad practises, such as employees not washing their hands properly, food debris, or rodent activity.

It may not seem like a lot of businesses fall on the lower end of the scale, which is good news for consumers. But there does seem to be a trend in where businesses with less-than-ideal scores are located.

The most noticeable area with a collective rating of 0 or 1 is in the southern part of England and near London. In fact, following an investigation from ITV in 2015, 358 businesses selling food in London were found to have scored low on the hygiene scale.

Birmingham also had a cluster of businesses that needed urgent improvements, along with Merseyside, Manchester, and Leeds.

Interestingly, the areas that had high concentrations of 0 and 1 ratings overshadowed businesses with a rating of 2. So unless the data are looked at separately, it is very difficult to know where improvement-necessary businesses fall on the map. And 10 percent of the businesses fell somewhere in the middle with a rating of 3.

Businesses in the U.K. With the Best Hygiene

To understand the diversity of the food industry, we also looked at ratings by business type.

Schools, colleges, and universities scored the highest with 4.83. Hospitals, childcare, and caring premises followed closely behind with a score of 4.74. Hospitals specifically cater to the sick and injured and have a high standard of general cleanliness. As a result, it makes sense that food hygiene levels are incredibly high in this environment – patients need to get better, not sicker.

Farmers and growers also scored high, with a rating of 4.65. Although they are considered part of the food industry, they are held to different standards. Following special guidelines by the Food Standards Agency, agriculturists must be cognisant of pesticide usage, livestock cleanliness, and even manure management.

Next, supermarket and hypermarket retailers scored 4.61. And at the bottom were takeaways and sandwich shops with a score of 3.84.

To put into perspective how low ratings can affect businesses, a recent survey of 1,000 people from West London by Checkit.com found that 61 percent of diners wouldn’t eat in a place if it had a low rating. In fact, this ended up being a huge concern for one Nottingham-based sandwich shop, which was given a score of 0. It was the only eatery in the city council boundaries to score so low.

Counties With the Best and Worst Hygiene

Our next breakdown of data shows the average hygiene rating by county. Counties that are coloured in blue have an above-average health score, while red countries represent a below-average score. Averages range from 3.5 to 4.8, but it’s worth noting that not all counties in the U.K. are represented by the map, just the ones that have businesses rated by the FHRS.

While the average score for all counties is 4.4, it is evident that some counties fall above and below this rating. The English county with the highest average is Darlington, which has a rating of 4.8. The area with the lowest score is Walsall, with a rating of 3.5.

Going north, the Scottish Borders carry a rating of nearly 4.8, putting it in line with Darlington. Out of those shown, the lowest scoring county in Scotland is Glasgow, which has a rating of 4.5. In Wales, Torfaen has a score of 3.9. Its highest-rated community, though, is Gwynedd – 4.7.

Still, most of the counties identified on the map fell into the blue category with an above-average score.

 

Average Hygiene Ratings Across London


 
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Next, we mapped specific neighborhoods and their clusters of businessplaces at the street level, identifying which neighborhoods' businesses had the highest and lowest ratings of overall hygiene.

Ranking first among the top five was Woodford and South Woodford, where the average hygiene rating was 4.6 out of 5 - 0.7 greater than the overall average of 3.9. Of the 366 identified locations, 72% held a perfect 5 rating. The Fenchurch Street neighborhood placed second, also with an average overall hygiene rating of 4.6 out of 5. Business locations near Leadenhall St, Fenchurch St, and Eastcheap tended to have higher hygiene ratings, while areas near Cornhill, Minories, and Mansell St often had lower ratings in the 3-4 range. While Chelsea ranked third, hygiene ratings here were somewhat more patchy. 15% of locations identified carried a 3 rating or lower

Not all cities or neighborhoods had such stellar ratings overall. The Plaistow area had the lowest overall hygiene rating of only 3.4. Here, many large clusters of low-hygiene businessplaces are located in the town's central area, while higher-rated locations were near Aldersbrook Road. Plaistow also placed in the bottom five, netting an average business place hygiene rating of only 3.5 out of 5. A number of low-rated business clusters ran along Barking Road, although smaller and better-rated clusters appeared near Stopford Road, Greengate St, and Prince Regent Lane. Lewisham and Stratford, each with an average rating of 3.6, showed a smattering of small well-rated clusters among the larger groupings of low-hygiene businessplaces. Stratford carried the highest proportion of locations with a score of 3 or lower at 24%.

 

Percentage of Businesses With Good Hygiene Ratings

Previously, we showed hygiene scores by location, but it’s also beneficial to understand the proportion of ratings each business holds.

Notably, the businesses where cleanliness is mandated scored the highest; 86 percent of schools, colleges, and universities received a rating of 5, while less than 1% received a 2 or lower.

Slightly below their educational counterparts, 81 percent of hospitals, childcare, and caring premises received a score of 5. For many of these places, low scores can tarnish professional reputations.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about takeaways and sandwich shops as only 42 percent received a score of 5. In fact, most of the businesses in this category had a 3 or 4 rating. At least 22 percent of hotels, bed & breakfasts, and guest houses received a rating of 4, while 6 percent received a rating of 3. But guests should still be weary. There have been instances of hotels with poor hygiene hiding behind other quality ratings.

Finally, 21 percent of restaurants, cafes, and canteens received a score of 4, while a noticeable 4 percent received a rating of 1.

 

Conclusion

Although some businesses do have poor food hygiene, a lot of food-related businesses have high standards of cleanliness. A large portion of food-related businesses in the U.K. still scored a 4 or higher.

Yet there are issues that can’t be overlooked. For example, 4 percent of restaurants, cafes, and canteens received a rating of 1. While it may not seem like a big deal, this small percentage can lead the way for cross-contamination and food-borne illnesses.

If you see (or taste) something that seems off, tell your server. If you look up a business online and find it has a low rating, don’t go. Food hygiene is extremely important, and an FHRS rating means more than just a number.

When it comes to your personal health, Zavamed cares just as much as you do. Our online doctors are here to answer any questions or concerns you may have and are more than happy to work with patients to find suitable treatments. Visit Zavamed.com today to take control of your health.

 

Methodology

Hygiene rating data were obtained from food.gov.uk as of May 5, 2016. All data correspond with the FHRS Rating Scheme.

A rating of 0 means that urgent improvement is necessary, while a rating of 1 means major improvement is necessary. A rating of 2 indicates that improvement is necessary, and a rating of 3 means that the establishment is generally satisfactory. The best scores are 4, which means good, and 5 – very good.

Maps of average hygiene ratings of the London metropolitan area were created by rounding businesses' latitude and logitude to group locations within a 0.3 decimal radius. Districts were defined according to each location's postal code.

Sources