Venus News & Off Licence food hygiene rating

The rating: 3 - Generally satisfactory

The rating dates from 30 October 2024, 20 months ago. That is getting on for the longest gap councils usually leave, so the score may not reflect how the business is run today.

Address: 70 Lewisham High Street, London, SE13 5JH

How it compares in Lewisham

In Lewisham, 62% of rated places manage a 5, so Venus News & Off Licence sits behind roughly 1,706 nearby businesses. 12% of the borough shares its 3.

Every rated food business in Lewisham

5 out of 5		1,249	62%
4 out of 5		457	23%
3 out of 5		236	12%	← Venus News & Off Licence
2 out of 5		35	2%
1 out of 5		28	1%
0 out of 5		4	<1%

A further 449 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.

What the inspector found

• Hygienic food handling Generally satisfactory
• Cleanliness & condition of the building Generally satisfactory
• How well they manage food safety Generally satisfactory

An inspection scores three things: how food is handled, the physical condition of the premises, and how much the inspector trusts management to keep standards up. At Venus News & Off Licence none of the three raised a concern, the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, so a clean sweep is what produces a high score.

Understanding this rating

• What does a 0 food hygiene rating mean? A 0 means the inspector found serious problems and urgent improvement is necessary. It is the lowest rating the scheme gives, but it is not a closure order, and a business with a 0 can, and usually does, keep trading while it puts things right.
• Does a low hygiene rating mean the food is unsafe? A low rating tells you that an inspector found problems on a particular day. It is not a measurement of the food, it is not a prediction, and it is not a verdict on whether you will get ill. It is the best single signal a member of the public has, and it is a snapshot.
• Does a business have to display its hygiene rating? It depends where you are. In Wales and Northern Ireland a food business must display its rating where you can read it before you go in. In England it is voluntary, a business there can legally show you nothing.

More food hygiene ratings near here

Lewisham inspects and rates 2,458 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Lewisham →

The official record is held by the council: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/business/food-safety/Pages/default.aspx