8 businesses need major improvements as latest Luton and Dunstable food hygiene ratings revealed

Across Luton, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, eight takeaways and food places have been told to make major improvements after being rated by the Food Standards Agency, as the latest hygiene ratings are revealed.

We're back with the roundup of the scores from the Food Standards Agency, and have created an interactive table for you to look at all the scores on the doors that have been handed out. Among those told to make major changes to their food hygiene practices are the Sugar Loaf pub, Doner King on Marsh Road and the Olive Garden Restaurant in Dunstable.

Places like takeaways, pubs, sandwich shops, restaurants and food businesses are rated in three areas during an unannounced inspection.

Inspectors look at hygienic food handling – how food is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored, the cleanliness and condition of facilities and buildings and management of food safety, which looks at systems in place to make sure that food is safe to eat and if the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.

If you’re unsure about where to go for a meal or which takeaway to order from? Having a look at the food hygiene rating is a good place to start.

Businesses are given a rating from 0 to 5 - and here's exactly what they mean:

5 – hygiene standards are very good

4 – hygiene standards are good

3 – hygiene standards are generally satisfactory

2 – some improvement is necessary

1 – major improvement is necessary

0 – urgent improvement is required