Millions of Britons will be heading for their local boozer between now and the New Year.
However, in hundreds of locations across the country, it is not only a hangover that revellers will risk with a bit of excess.
Food Standards Agency (FSA) data shows there are 1,296 pubs, bars and nightclubs that are so dirty they failed their food hygiene inspection.
This, MailOnline can reveal, amounts to almost one in 40.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, all venues serving food are rated on a scale between zero and five.
Businesses which score two or below have not reached the minimum standards and at least ‘some’ improvement is necessary.
Inspectors who visit such venues may find rotting food and rodent droppings or spot unsafe food storage habits.
In Scotland, venues are graded on a binary pass/fail basis.
Of the firms on the fail list outside of Scotland, MailOnline analysis of FSA data shows 584 received a rating of two.
A further 445 were scored one – meaning major improvement is necessary – and 43 received the lowest possible rating of zero, where ‘urgent improvement is required’.
The data was correct as of December 6.
In Scotland, 224 businesses were rated as ‘Improvement Required’.
Local authorities are responsible for inspecting businesses in their area at least once every two years.
Earlier this month MailOnline showed how 50,000 firms serving food have never been inspected.
A further 160,000 had not been inspected in two years.
Of the 50,000 firms that had never been inspected, 1,991 of them were bars, pubs or nightclubs.
Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, nearly 33,700 bars, pubs and clubs out of a total of 51,781 have the maximum rating of five. Another 7,766 score a four.
The FSA has called for increased investment by local authorities in their environmental health departments who carry out food standards inspections.
Many local authorities have struggled to recruit sufficient qualified staff and have failed to carry out enough inspections.
The FSA claims the inspection is a ‘snapshot’ of the standards of food hygiene. Their ratings do not cover issues such as the quality of food, customer service, culinary skill, presentation or comfort.
This pub was raided by food standards inspectors from Lichfield District Council
They concentrate on the handling of food, how it is stored and prepared. They also consider the cleanliness of the facilities and how food safety is managed.
According to the data, Birmingham had the greatest number of substandard bars and restaurants in the country with 26 failing to reach the appropriate food safety level, followed by Cornwall, Powys and Wiltshire.
Ealing in West London is the worst in the capital with 15 bars and restaurants failing to meet the appropriate standard.
Waltham Forest has the highest number of zero-rated bars and pubs, with four, followed by East Lindsey, Doncaster and Cornwall.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
