Four out of every five South Cambs businesses inspected in 2015 have been given the top food hygiene rating, the Crow can reveal.

Of the 313 firms which have been visited by South Cambridgeshire District Council since the turn of the year, 80 per cent received a five star rating – with a further 15 per cent in the category below.

None were given the lowest rating of zero, with just six companies failing to meet the ‘generally satisfactory’ compliant rating by being given two stars or less – which means major or general improvements are necessary.

It is now five years since the Food Standards Agency introduced a nationally standardised rating scheme and 10 years since the district council launched its own ratings system.

Councillor Mick Martin, responsible for environmental services at the district council, said: “We were one of the first councils in the country to launch online food hygiene ratings, and support local businesses to help them understand and implement good standards.

“That only six inspections out of 313 resulted in ratings below three shows the vast majority of local businesses and organisations take food safety seriously.

“This is borne out by the fact that of 919 currently rated premises, only 17 score lower than three – just 1.85 per cent.

“We regularly publicise our most recent food inspection ratings on Facebook and Twitter, and advise residents to check the Food Standards Agency website before they shop, order a takeaway or book a table.”

The South Cambs figures compared favourably with North Herts, where 156 inspections have been carried out since the start of the year.

Of those, 19 per cent of the places inspected were classed as ‘non-compliant’, scoring a rating of two or fewer out of five.

Six businesses in the Royston area were given one star – meaning they require major improvements.