More food businesses displaying hygiene stickers

Venues achieving top marks of four or five stars on the Food Hygiene Rating System are increasingly displaying their stickers and certificates whereas numbers of those with bottom ratings of zero to two are still low.

The findings by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are being used to develop its FHRS communications strategy.

The results showed that the number of businesses displaying their rating at their premises had increased since 2011/12  from 43% to 52% in England, from 31% to 47% in Wales and from 50% to 57% in Northern Ireland.

Businesses with ratings in the bottom half of the scale displaying their scores remained low at about 10% in England, 17% in Wales, 13% in Northern Ireland.

Reasons given for businesses not displaying their ratings including the fact that it is not mandatory; not liking the scheme or believing it is unfair; a low rating; or head office policy.

"Many of us make spontaneous decisions about where to eat, so being able to see the rating on the door or in the window is important," said Catriona Stewart, head of the Food Hygiene Ratings Team. "It’s encouraging to see that the number of businesses displaying the top two ratings is going up.

"But there is still a way to go. More of these businesses could be showing their customers that they take food hygiene seriously. We’re developing a toolkit to help them do this and make the most of their ratings.

"The more ratings on display, the better for consumers and the sooner the scheme can achieve its potential to improve public health."