A total of 392 food businesses moved up to the maximum food hygiene rating of 5 in the latest batch of published rating changes analysed by Food Safety Direct.
The latest update contained 1,210 rating changes, with 607 businesses improving their headline rating and 603 moving down. While the overall split was almost exactly even, the much more interesting story this week was the number of businesses reaching the highest possible rating.
Of all businesses whose rating improved, almost two-thirds finished with a rating of 5.
392 Businesses Improved to a Rating of 5
The 392 businesses reaching a 5 represents a clear increase on recent weeks. Two weeks ago, 351 businesses improved to a rating of 5, followed by 324 last week. This week’s total of 392 is around 21% higher than the previous update.
The largest group were businesses moving from a rating of 4 to 5:
- 257 businesses moved from 4 → 5
- 69 moved from 3 → 5
- 31 moved from 2 → 5
- 33 moved from 1 → 5
- 2 made the full jump from 0 → 5
The number moving from 4 to 5 was particularly strong. Last week, 179 businesses made that improvement, compared with 257 in the latest data.
Two Businesses Make the Full Jump From 0 to 5
Two businesses recorded the largest possible improvement, moving from a food hygiene rating of 0 to the maximum rating of 5.
Ginos/Ginos Pizza n Peri Peri/Chix
Walsall
- Hygienic food handling: 15 → 0
- Cleanliness and condition: 25 → 5
- Management of food safety: 20 → 0
New rating dated 27 October 2026.
View the latest ratingThe Wesley Bar and Kitchen
Camden
- Hygienic food handling: 20 → 5
- Cleanliness and condition: 20 → 5
- Management of food safety: 30 → 5
New rating dated 21 October 2026.
View the latest ratingFor the three individual component scores, lower figures indicate better performance, so these changes show substantial improvements across each area assessed.
More Businesses Making Significant Improvements
There were also 33 businesses that moved from a rating of 1 directly to a 5.
Among them was Island Spice in East Lindsey, which finished with scores of 0 for hygienic food handling, 0 for structural condition and 0 for management of food safety after moving from a headline rating of 1 to 5.
Nick's Fish Grill Dessert in North Somerset also moved from 1 to 5. Its hygienic food handling score improved from 10 to 5, structural score from 15 to 0 and management score from 20 to 5.
Walsall produced another particularly strong example in Q Bar, which moved from 1 to 5 while all three of its individual scores improved to 0.
These examples show why looking beyond the headline rating can be useful. A change from 1 to 5 is significant in itself, but the individual scores can also show where the biggest improvements have taken place.
Where Were Food Hygiene Ratings Improving?
There were some particularly strong local results in this week’s data.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: 14 Improvements From 14 Changes
Among local authority areas with at least 10 published rating changes, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole recorded the strongest result.
All 14 rating changes detected in the area were improvements. Even more notably, 13 of those 14 businesses finished with the maximum rating of 5.
Highest Improvement Rates
| Local authority | Changes | Improved | Declined | Improvement rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 14 | 14 | 0 | 100% |
| Islington | 10 | 9 | 1 | 90% |
| Walsall | 23 | 19 | 4 | 82.6% |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 11 | 9 | 2 | 81.8% |
| Wandsworth | 11 | 9 | 2 | 81.8% |
| South Oxfordshire | 10 | 8 | 2 | 80% |
These figures show the direction of the latest published rating changes rather than the overall food hygiene standard of each area. The number and timing of ratings published by individual local authorities can also vary considerably.
Walsall Records 19 Improvements
Walsall deserves a particular mention this week because of the combination of both volume and positive movement.
There were 23 rating changes detected in the area, with 19 improvements and just four declines. That gave Walsall an improvement rate of 82.6%.
Fifteen of those businesses improved to a rating of 5.
Walsall also produced some of the most substantial individual improvements in this week’s data, including the 0 → 5 improvement for Ginos/Ginos Pizza n Peri Peri/Chix and the 1 → 5 improvement for Q Bar.
Check a Food Hygiene Rating
Food Safety Direct’s Food Hygiene Rating Checker allows you to search for a business and view its latest headline rating, together with the individual hygienic food handling, structural and management scores where these are available.
These underlying scores can provide much more detail than the headline rating alone and can help show which areas of a food business may have improved or require further attention.
Check a Food Hygiene RatingAbout this data: This analysis covers 1,210 food hygiene rating changes detected in the latest Food Safety Direct monitoring update on 2 November 2026.
The figures represent changes found in published Food Hygiene Rating Scheme data. They should not be interpreted as 1,210 inspections taking place during the same week, as local authorities may publish rating updates at different times and the underlying inspection dates can cover a wider period.
The local authority comparison includes areas with at least 10 rating changes in the latest batch and looks only at the direction of those changes, not the overall standard of food hygiene within each area.
