ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

The UK's filthiest supermarkets and shops have been revealed by hygiene inspectors. They have listed the 14 food stores which were given a 'zero' hygiene rating during routine checks aimed at protecting customers from food poisoning.

Among the culprits is a Tesco store in an upmarket part of London. In fact the survey results show Tesco and Asda are the worst ranked when it comes to the hygiene of their stores. Seven of the 1,897 Tesco stores assessed under the guidelines were deemed to have failed to meet standards, while six of the 477 Asda stores were in the category.

Three supermarkets had one store which failed to meet the required standards. A Sainsbury's store in Rotherham was the only one out of 1,080 to be marked at two or less, while Lidl's only store - out of 455 - to be marked as inadequate was in Doncaster.

Morrisons had one store in Mansfield which scored two on the scale.

Neither Aldi or Waitrose had any stores which were deemed inadequate.

The poor ratings mean these supermarkets drastically fell foul of guidelines and that 'urgent improvement is necessary'. It also means they could have a history of rodent infestations, filthy conditions or inadequate safety measures.

The data reflects the standards of food hygiene found on the date of inspection or visit by the relevant local authority. Each premises is given a rating between zero and five. A rating of two or below indicates that it does not meet the expected standards.