Food outlets in Scotland are subject to the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS). Under the scheme, local authorities carry out an inspection of relevant businesses, and provide them with a rating of Pass or Improvement Required. The outlets could alternatively be Awaiting Inspection, Awaiting Publication or they could be Exempt from the rating scheme.
Businesses are asked to display their classification clearly at the front of their premises.
In this study, the information that is held by the Food Standards Agency regarding FHIS ratings has been used to discover the best and worst local authorities in Scotland, for food hygiene in restaurants and cafes, pubs, and takeaways.
Premises that are classified as Awaiting Inspection, Awaiting Publication or Exempt, have been removed from the analysis in order to discover the percentage of businesses with a Pass or Improvement Required rating.
Key Findings
- The 5 council areas with the highest percentage of Pass ratings for food hygiene in restaurants, cafes, pubs and takeaways:
- Orkney Islands (100% of 111 applicable businesses)
- South Ayrshire (99.8% of 601 applicable businesses)
- Perth & Kinross (97.8% of 406 applicable businesses)
- Renfrewshire (96.6% of 593 applicable businesses)
- East Ayrshire (96% of 451 applicable businesses)
- The 5 council areas with the highest percentage of Improvement Required ratings for food hygiene in restaurants, cafes, pubs and takeaways:
- Highland (28.6% of 418 applicable businesses)
- City of Edinburgh (28.2% of 2474 applicable businesses)
- Moray (26.8% of 286 applicable businesses)
- Midlothian (24.3% of 238 applicable businesses)
- Aberdeen City (24% of 779 applicable businesses)
- Out of the best five council areas, South Ayrshire has the highest number of applicable businesses (businesses that have received a Pass or Improvement Required rating under the scheme). They also rank top for the category of restaurants and cafes, are in the top 5 for pubs, and rank top for takeaways.
- The City of Edinburgh has the highest number of applicable businesses out of the worst five council areas. It also ranks the worst in the country for restaurants and cafes, is in the bottom five for pubs and in the bottom five for takeaways.
Scotland Restaurants and Cafes
Out of the 32 local authority areas, City of Edinburgh has the highest proportion of restaurants and cafes with the Improvement Required rating. Of the 1259 restaurants and cafes in the area, more than a quarter require improvement, at 26.5%.
Other areas with a high percentage of poorly rated restaurants include Moray (23.7% of 135 applicable businesses), Shetland Islands (22.8% of 57 applicable businesses), Midlothian (18.3% of 131 applicable businesses), and Highland with 18% of their 323 applicable businesses requiring improvement.
The areas that fared best in their most recent inspections are South Ayrshire and Orkney Islands, both of which have an amazing 100% pass rate for their 350 and 93 applicable establishments (respectively).
Other areas with a high percentage of restaurants that have passed the inspection include East Ayrshire (97.6% of 328 applicable outlets), Perth and Kinross (97.3% of 262 applicable outlets), and Fife (96.3% of 599 applicable outlets).
Scotland Pubs
Highland is the council area with the worst pub ratings. A total of 28.1% of its 32 applicable pubs received the Improvement Required rating at their latest inspection.
Other areas with a high percentage include Moray (26.4% of its 72 relevant pubs), City of Edinburgh (20% of its 539 pubs), Aberdeen City (15.6% of its 199 pubs) and Dundee City (15.6% of its 199 relevant pubs).
West Lothian was one of four local authorities with a 100% pass rate. A total of 84 applicable pubs in the area passed their latest inspections. The other areas were Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, and East Renfrewshire. Of an overall total of 27 pubs in the Shetland Islands, 77.78% are Exempt, and 11% Awaiting Inspection, which means that the pass rate only applies to the 3 remaining pubs. In the Orkney Islands, all 11 pubs received the 100% pass rate and in East Renfrewshire, all 12 of its pubs got full marks.
Scotland Takeaways
The local authority with the highest percentage of takeaways requiring improvement is Midlothian, with a very high 42.9% of its 56 takeaways needing attention.
There were six other areas with over a third of their rated takeaways requiring improvement, including Shetland Islands (41.7% of 12 takeaways); Highland (39.7% of 63 takeaways); Aberdeen City (38.7% of 194 takeaways); City of Edinburgh (38% of 676 takeaways; Scottish Borders (37.9% of 87 takeaways); and South Lanarkshire (35% of 60 relevant takeaways).
On the positive side, 100% of the 103 rated takeaways in South Ayrshire received a pass at their last inspection, and Orkney Islands also have a 100% pass rate, although there are only 7 takeaways in this area.
Other local authorities that fared well in this category were Perth and Kinross (97.7% of 87 relevant takeaways); Renfrewshire (96% of 173 relevant takeaways) and Dumfries and Galloway (94.5% of 91 takeaway businesses).
Below is the raw data that was used to conduct the analysis, taken from the Food Standards Agency website on 19th December 2016.
Restaurants and Cafes in Scotland
Area | Total Number of Businesses | % Passed | % Requiring Improvement | % Awaiting Publication | % Awaiting Inspection | % Exempt |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen City | 387 | 81.91 | 17.83 | 0 | 0 | 0.26 |
Aberdeenshire | 133 | 78.2 | 12.03 | 0 | 6.77 | 3.01 |
Angus | 183 | 87.43 | 5.46 | 0 | 7.1 | 0 |
Argyll and Bute | 292 | 84.59 | 7.53 | 0 | 1.71 | 6.16 |
Clackmannanshire
|
52 | 88.46 | 7.69 | 0 | 3.85 | 0 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
|
74 | 82.43 | 12.16 | 0 | 0 | 5.41 |
Dumfries and Galloway
|
217 | 95.39 | 4.15 | 0 | 0.46 | 0 |
Dundee City | 252 | 80.56 | 14.29 | 0 | 1.19 | 3.97 |
East Ayrshire | 393 | 81.42 | 2.04 | 0 | 0 | 16.54 |
East Dunbartonshire
|
113 | 88.5 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Lothian | 169 | 94.08 | 5.92 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Renfrewshire
|
84 | 94.05 | 5.95 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Edinburgh (City of)
|
1259 | 73.55 | 26.45 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Falkirk | 276 | 67.03 | 12.68 | 0 | 11.23 | 9.06 |
Fife | 633 | 91.15 | 3.48 | 0 | 4.27 | 1.11 |
Glasgow City | 1500 | 84 | 6.47 | 0 | 9.53 | 0 |
Highland | 387 | 68.48 | 14.99 | 0 | 16.28 | 0.26 |
Inverclyde | 101 | 92.08 | 6.93 | 0 | 0.99 | 0 |
Midlothian | 142 | 75.35 | 16.9 | 0 | 0 | 7.75 |
Moray | 137 | 75.18 | 23.36 | 0 | 1.46 | 0 |
North Ayrshire | 190 | 90 | 9.47 | 0 | 0 | 0.53 |
North Lanarkshire
|
312 | 91.03 | 8.33 | 0 | 0.64 | 0 |
Orkney Islands | 93 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Perth and Kinross
|
285 | 89.47 | 2.46 | 0 | 8.07 | 0 |
Renfrewshire | 264 | 94.7 | 4.17 | 0 | 0.38 | 0.76 |
Scottish Borders
|
316 | 83.23 | 16.77 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Shetland Islands
|
60 | 73.33 | 21.67 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
South Ayrshire | 366 | 95.63 | 0 | 0 | 0.27 | 4.1 |
South Lanarkshire
|
852 | 81.22 | 14.91 | 0 | 3.87 | 0 |
Stirling | 206 | 88.83 | 9.22 | 0 | 1.94 | 0 |
West Dunbartonshire
|
147 | 91.16 | 8.84 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
West Lothian | 190 | 90 | 7.89 | 0 | 2.11 | 0 |
Pubs and Nightclubs in Scotland
Area | Total Number of Businesses< | % Passed | % Requiring Improvement | % Awaiting Publication | % Awaiting Inspection | % Exempt |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen City | 199 | 84.42 | 15.58 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Aberdeenshire | 165 | 76.97 | 10.91 | 0 | 5.45 | 6.67 |
Angus | 139 | 82.01 | 4.32 | 0 | 13.67 | 0 |
Argyll and Bute | 73 | 83.56 | 2.74 | 0 | 4.11 | 9.59 |
Clackmannanshire
|
53 | 83.02 | 15.09 | 0 | 1.89 | 0 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
|
19 | 78.95 | 5.26 | 0 | 15.79 | 0 |
Dumfries and Galloway
|
114 | 93.86 | 2.63 | 0 | 3.51 | 0 |
Dundee City | 201 | 83.58 | 15.42 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
East Ayrshire | 51 | 68.63 | 1.96 | 0 | 0 | 29.41 |
East Dunbartonshire
|
52 | 92.31 | 7.69 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Lothian | 106 | 95.28 | 4.72 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Renfrewshire
|
12 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Edinburgh (City of)
|
539 | 79.96 | 20.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Falkirk | 123 | 66.67 | 8.94 | 0 | 5.69 | 18.7 |
Fife | 430 | 92.56 | 2.33 | 0 | 0.93 | 4.19 |
Glasgow City | 390 | 88.46 | 8.21 | 0 | 3.33 | 0 |
Highland | 40 | 57.5 | 22.5 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
Inverclyde | 75 | 90.67 | 8 | 0 | 1.33 | 0 |
Midlothian | 58 | 77.59 | 10.34 | 0 | 0 | 12.07 |
Moray | 81 | 65.43 | 23.46 | 0 | 11.11 | 0 |
North Ayrshire | 135 | 94.81 | 4.44 | 0 | 0 | 0.74 |
North Lanarkshire
|
246 | 95.93 | 3.25 | 0 | 0.81 | 0 |
Orkney Islands | 11 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Perth and Kinross
|
59 | 94.92 | 1.69 | 0 | 3.39 | 0 |
Renfrewshire | 165 | 94.55 | 1.82 | 0 | 0 | 3.64 |
Scottish Borders
|
167 | 92.22 | 7.19 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
Shetland Islands
|
27 | 11.11 | 0 | 0 | 11.11 | 77.78 |
South Ayrshire | 149 | 98.66 | 0.67 | 0 | 0.67 | 0 |
South Lanarkshire
|
255 | 88.24 | 10.59 | 0 | 1.18 | 0 |
Stirling | 118 | 92.37 | 6.78 | 0 | 0.85 | 0 |
West Dunbartonshire
|
57 | 94.74 | 5.26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
West Lothian | 87 | 96.55 | 0 | 0 | 3.45 | 0 |
Takeaways in Scotland
Area | Total Number of Businesses | % Passed | % Requiring Improvement | % Awaiting Publication | % Awaiting Inspection | % Exempt |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen City | 194 | 61.34 | 38.66 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Aberdeenshire | 134 | 67.16 | 28.36 | 0 | 4.48 | 0 |
Angus | 87 | 80.46 | 14.94 | 0 | 4.6 | 0 |
Argyll and Bute | 60 | 81.67 | 13.33 | 0 | 3.33 | 1.67 |
Clackmannanshire
|
49 | 81.63 | 16.33 | 0 | 2.04 | 0 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles)
|
12 | 91.67 | 8.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dumfries and Galloway
|
91 | 94.51 | 5.49 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dundee City | 192 | 75 | 23.44 | 0 | 1.56 | 0 |
East Ayrshire | 87 | 93.1 | 6.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Dunbartonshire
|
74 | 87.84 | 12.16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Lothian | 58 | 93.1 | 6.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Renfrewshire
|
60 | 86.67 | 13.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Edinburgh (City of)
|
676 | 61.98 | 38.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Falkirk | 130 | 80 | 13.85 | 0 | 5.38 | 0.77 |
Fife | 324 | 88.27 | 8.95 | 0 | 2.78 | 0 |
Glasgow City | 853 | 71.04 | 16.76 | 0 | 12.19 | 0 |
Highland | 73 | 52.05 | 34.25 | 0 | 13.7 | 0 |
Inverclyde | 69 | 76.81 | 23.19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Midlothian | 56 | 57.14 | 42.86 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Moray | 83 | 66.27 | 28.92 | 0 | 4.82 | 0 |
North Ayrshire | 137 | 80.29 | 18.98 | 0 | 0.73 | 0 |
North Lanarkshire
|
370 | 82.16 | 16.76 | 0 | 1.08 | 0 |
Orkney Islands | 7 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Perth and Kinross
|
93 | 91.4 | 2.15 | 0 | 6.45 | 0 |
Renfrewshire | 175 | 94.86 | 4 | 0 | 0.57 | 0.57 |
Scottish Borders
|
87 | 62.07 | 37.93 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Shetland Islands
|
12 | 58.33 | 41.67 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
South Ayrshire | 105 | 98.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.95 | 0.95 |
South Lanarkshire
|
68 | 57.35 | 30.88 | 0 | 11.76 | 0 |
Stirling | 71 | 77.46 | 15.49 | 0 | 7.04 | 0 |
West Dunbartonshire
|
93 | 86.02 | 13.98 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
West Lothian | 144 | 84.03 | 13.19 | 0 | 2.78 | 0 |