Takeaways with low ratings display incorrect scores

Business serving food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are giving a rating of zero to five, with five being the best score

Nearly two dozen eateries in a Kent town with low food hygiene scores are displaying incorrect ratings in their windows - or, in some cases, no rating at all.

Of the 22 takeaways and restaurants in Maidstone with a rating of three stars or below, 21 of them displayed either no rating or the wrong one, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has revealed.

It is not legally mandatory for businesses in England to display their ratings or for them to display the correct one.

A spokesperson for Maidstone Borough Council said the authority wants to see this changed.

"[We are] wholly supportive of any efforts to make the display of current and correct food hygiene ratings mandatory," they said.

"In the case of incorrect ratings being displayed, this is usually where a premises has received a lower rating at their most recent inspection and the food premises has not put up the most current."

Businesses that serve food to the public are regularly inspected by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and given food hygiene ratings to show their compliance with rules on food safety, storage, and management.

These ratings can be found on the FSA's website.

The FSA said that in England only 69% of businesses display a rating. This compares with 92% in Wales and 91% in Northern Ireland, where it is compulsory to publicly show the score.

Jesse Williams of the FSA said: "We take reports about inaccurate display very seriously.

"The FSA would like to see the display of food hygiene ratings made mandatory through legislation in England."

The government did not respond when asked if it planned to legislate mandatory display of the hygiene rating stickers.

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