The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced a new campaign to encourage businesses to display their food hygiene rating online.
The campaign comes as new research released by the FSA shows that despite the widespread use of Facebook, Instagram and websites with online ordering capabilities, only a small minority of businesses display their food hygiene rating online.
The research shows that only around one in 10 businesses were displaying a food hygiene rating online, despite widespread agreement that displaying a rating resulted in more customers.
Online display guidance, free images and other resources are available for businesses to help them display their food hygiene rating on their website and social media platforms.
“We know that most consumers want businesses with an online food ordering service to display their food hygiene rating where it can clearly be seen before they order food. We have high standards of food hygiene in the UK, but many businesses are not displaying their ratings online, missing the opportunity to show their customers how seriously they take food hygiene,” Jesse Williams, head of the food hygiene rating scheme at the FSA, said.
“A good hygiene rating is something that businesses work hard to achieve, so we want to make it simple for them to share it online. We have updated our guidance for social media display and offer free resources to help businesses add their rating to their websites.
“It’s good business sense to display a hygiene rating online and it’s reassuring for consumers that they can see the hygiene rating clearly when ordering their food.”
The latest research, published on Thursday, includes results of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) Audit of Display and Business Survey and qualitative research on consumer needs in relation to food hygiene ratings when ordering food online. Key findings include:
- The most widely used online platform by businesses was Facebook: England (67%), Northern Ireland (69%) and Wales (67%). Around a third of businesses had an Instagram profile (England 36%; Northern Ireland 35%; Wales 30%) and around a quarter had a website with online ordering capabilities (England 27%; Northern Ireland 24%; Wales 24%)
- Despite widespread use of Facebook, Instagram and websites with online food ordering capabilities, only a small minority of businesses were found to be displaying a FHRS rating on these platforms during the audit: 10% in England, 5% in Northern Ireland and 8% in Wales
- Around two-thirds of businesses surveyed agreed that displaying a food hygiene rating resulted in more customers (England: 73%; Northern Ireland: 66%; Wales: 65%)
- There was widespread agreement that businesses with good ratings were attractive to customers (England: 96%; Northern Ireland: 91%; Wales: 90%) and that displaying a rating improves business reputation (England 95%; Northern Ireland 91%; Wales 88%)
- Overall, participants in the consumer research wanted FHRS ratings to be included online because it would help inform their decisions about where to order from. This was seen as particularly important for food outlets they had never tried before
All food businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are inspected and receive a food hygiene rating from their local authority. FSA clarified that displaying a hygiene rating online is not mandatory, but making a rating available online as part of a business website or social media account is strongly encouraged.
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