Southport has been named the best location in the UK for food hygiene ratings, with an average score of 4.92 from more than 400 venues. This places the Merseyside seaside town joint first with Ipswich in the national rankings for towns and cities.
Report analysis
The High Speed Training report analysed Food Standards Agency (FSA) data for almost 240,000 food businesses across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. In the North West, the average food hygiene rating across all food establishments was 4.48 from 27,070 premises, placing the region eighth nationally.
The report examined food establishments in four categories: Restaurants/Cafes/Canteens, Takeaways/Sandwich Shops, Pubs/Bars/Nightclubs and Hotels/Bed & Breakfasts/Guest Houses. Businesses without a current rating or inspection result were omitted from the analysis.
Regional rankings
Southport's average score of 4.92 from more than 400 premises secured the top spot in the North West. In contrast, Bolton had the lowest average rating in the region at 4.03, ranking joint 55th nationally.
Southport is home to notable dining venues including family-run Italian restaurant Volare, which recently won the title of UK's Best Restaurant at the UK SBA Small Business Awards, and Bistrot Vérité, a French concept with a Michelin Guide honour. Fish and chip shop The Swan was ranked the best chippy in the North West last year, while The Vincent and the Gemini Lounge are highly recommended for upmarket meals. All aforementioned venues boast five-star hygiene ratings.
Expert insight
Food hygiene consultant Katy Elliott, who has achieved 97% of her clients earning five-star hygiene ratings across the North West, previously told the ECHO that achieving the top standard can be daunting. She said: "The food hygiene regulations can seem overwhelming, especially for people who are already juggling the day-to-day challenges of running a business."
She added: "Generally, when places get a low rating, it stems from a dirty, lazy head chef. And if they don't run the kitchen, and they're just shouting and being horrible, then the kitchen is not well-run." Speaking about low ratings, she said: "A lot of low ratings are down to paperwork, where they don't understand. I worked with someone who had a two star rating and the place wasn't dirty, it was because he wanted to cook a bit differently - but he couldn't prove what he was doing so his paperwork was really bad."
