Chichester ranked first in south-east for food hygiene ratings

A report, undertaken by High Speed Training, analysed Food Standards Agency (FSA) data for almost 240,000 food businesses across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, found that in the south-east, the average food hygiene rating across all food establishments was 4.61 from 29,279 premises, which places the region joint fifth in the national rankings.

The report analysed food establishments in four categories: Restaurants/Cafes/Canteens, Takeaways/Sandwich Shops, Pubs/Bars/Nightclubs and Hotels/Bed & Breakfasts/Guest Houses. After filtering, if a business did not have a current rating or an inspection result then the entry was omitted from the analysis.

The top spot in the south-east went to Chichester, with an impressive average score of 4.91 from over 350 premises, placing them second in the national rankings for towns and cities.

The biggest improver in the region was Worthing, which increased their rating by 0.11 from 2025, placing them sixth in the south-east.

The lowest average rating in the region went to Portsmouth, with an average score of 4.26, meaning they rank 50th in the national rankings in the national rankings for towns and cities.

High Speed Training’s report also found that 16.99% of takeaways across the region scored three or below for their food hygiene rating, and that 90.22% of premises scored a four or a five on their rating, including 91.40% of restaurants and cafes. The most common rating scored by businesses was five, with 74.87% of all premises across the South East scoring top marks.

Across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, Ipswich and Southport were the highest rated towns, scoring averages of 4.92, whilst the south-west took the top regional spot, scoring an average of 4.69.