Wigan has the dirtiest takeaways in the UK

The study, by cleaning experts Vacuum Wars, analysed Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) and Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (Scotland) data, looking at the number of takeaways with either a four rating (equalling “Good”) or takeaways with a “Pass” rating (for those in Scotland). Towns were then ranked by the percentage of takeaways that achieved these ratings.

In first place is Wigan where over half (51.62 per cent) of takeaways have a rating of three or less, equating to more than half, or 159 out of 308 takeaways.

Second place goes to Blaenau Gwent, Wales, with 48.41 per cent of takeaways achieving a rating of three or less, which means 41 out of 84 takeaways meet the standard.

Walsall, West Midlands, ranks third, where 45.85 per cent of takeaways have a rating of three or less, equating to 138 out of 301 takeaways.

Fourth place goes to Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, where 43.58 per cent of takeaways have a rating of three or less, working out to 112 out of 257 takeaways.

Caerphilly, Wales, ranks fifth with 41.22 per cent of takeaways scoring a rating of three or less, equating to 80 out of 190 takeaways.

The remainder of the top ten features Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, in sixth place, with 41.1 per cent of takeaways achieving a rating of three or less, working out to a total of 30 out of 73 takeaways.

Waltham Forest, London, takes the seventh spot, with 40.07 per cent of takeaways scoring four or higher in their food hygiene scores, equating to 109 out of 272 takeaways rated three or less.

Woking, Surrey, ranks eighth, where 39.19 per cent of takeaways are rated three or less, which equates to 29 out of 74 takeaways.

In ninth place is Birmingham, West Midlands, where 38.63 per cent of takeaways meet the rating of three or less standard, which equates to 343 out of 888 takeaways – the highest number of both takeaways in total, as well as takeaways that are rated three or below.

Rounding out the list in tenth place is Dudley, West Midlands, where 38.52 per cent of takeaways scored a rating of four or more, equating to 99 out of 257 takeaways.

North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, is the area with the cleanest takeaways, with 100 per cent of the area’s 75 takeaways achieving a “Good” rating or above – notably the only instance of any area in the list to achieve such a high rating.

Falkirk, Scotland, and South Ayrshire are the second and third areas with the cleanest takeaways, at 99.21 per cent and 99.15 per cent, respectively.

Scotland was found to have the cleanest takeaways of any UK region, on average, with 88.7 per cent of Scottish takeaways receiving a “Pass” grade according to the Scottish Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, working out to 4,497 of a total 5,070 takeaways.

On the findings Christopher White, CEO of Vacuum Wars, commented on the findings, saying,

“The findings highlight the varying standards of food hygiene across different regions, indicating that some areas, such as those in Scotland, maintain exceptionally clean practices while others, such as in Wales, which feature four entries in the top ten, show room for improvement.

“A key step towards improvement could be to provide targeted training and resources to help businesses, particularly those in underperforming areas, meet the highest levels of hygiene.”