Planning a takeaway? Or maybe a nice romantic meal out?

Before you commit, you might want to check out how hygienically your food will be prepared - and avoid a nasty surprise.

Our new tool, below, brings together every food hygiene rating in the Bradford district - nearly 4,000 of them! Just start typing a name, address or area of Bradford into the search box to find ratings for the business of your choice. 5 is the highest rating and 0 is the lowest.

Every business premises in the district that prepares or serves food - from takeaways and restaurants to shops and supermarkets - is inspected at least once every two years by Bradford Council. They are given a food hygiene rating from 0 (worst) to 5 (best) which they are encouraged - although not legally obliged - to display in their premises for customers to see.

What the ratings mean

Businesses are rated in three individual areas - food preparation, condition of the premises and food safety procedures - and all three of them feed into a main rating on a scale from 5 (best) to 0 (worst).

5 - Very Good

4 - Good

3 - Generally Satisfactory

2 - Improvement necessary

1 - Major improvements necessary

0 - Urgent improvements necessary

Some newer premises are still awaiting their first inspection, while others - including home-based care businesses and shops which only sell unrefrigerated, pre-packaged food - are inspected but are exempt from the rating system.