An Italian restaurant with a 4.5-star Google rating has been handed a low food hygiene score.  

Villa Bianca, a family-run Italian restaurant on Bell Street in Princes Risborough was given a one-out-of-five food hygiene rating after an unannounced inspection by a Buckinghamshire Council officer at the beginning of June.

The modest-sized establishment has an average Google rating of 4.5 stars, with recent customers praising its “excellent food, amazing staff and reasonable prices”.

However, the inspector said "major improvement” was required to its food safety management, as well as moderate changes to the cleanliness of facilities and hygienic food handling practices.

It puts the Italian in the 0.5 per cent of restaurants in the area with the second lowest possible hygiene rating – with 68. 1 per cent chugging along happily with a top score of five.

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In fact, nearby High Wycombe saw the greatest year-on-year improvement in average food hygiene scores in 2024, with a rise from 4.37 to 4.48.

The report was compiled by training provider High Speed Training using data supplied by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Food hygiene ratings, which are measured against UK-wide standards of food handling, premises condition and food management practices, are compulsory for businesses to display in Wales and Northern Ireland.

In England there is no such regulation and putting hygiene ratings in restaurant windows is just considered best practice.