How clean is the supermarket you shop at? (Picture: Getty Images)
For many of us, buying food at the cheapest supermarket is a must – especially with the cost of living crisis digging its claws into our shopping baskets.
But have you ever wondered how clean your favourite supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl actually are?
Well wonder no more, because the UK’s dirtiest supermarket has been revealed.
BritSuperstore’s UK-wide study examined the food hygiene ratings for thousands of supermarket stores across the nation, giving most major supermarkets a score out of five – one being bad and five being excellent.
Which’s cheapest supermarket of 2023, Aldi, was the cleanest supermarket (picture: Getty Images)
Trailing in last place, with the lowest score of 4.89 stars out of five, is Iceland. But, it is worth noting that, with a score that high, it may be dirtiest on the list but that doesn’t make it a bad place to shop.
Famed for it’s frozen offerings, the supermarket chain offers wild creations like its hash brown quarter pounders which drove shoppers crazy with excitement.
In fact, we’re fans of Iceland here at Metro after it slashed prices of its baby formula range by 20% in response to Metro’s Formula for Change campaign – despite it being against the law to do so.
When it comes to the most hygienic store, in joint first place is Which’s cheapest supermarket of 2023, Aldi, with a rating of 4.99 out of five stars for hygiene.
The beloved German supermarket giant tied with the more expensive M&S which also received a score of 4.99 out of five stars.
Just one Aldi store in the whole of the UK was deemed as needing improvement by Food Standards Agency inspectors.
So, not only is it brilliantly clean, but a basket of 43 groceries will cost you an average of £74.83 – the cheapest around.
What’s even better is the supermarket chain recently announced it will be slashing the price of more than 40 common household items like coffee, fruit and veg and pet food.
In second place for hygiene standards is Sainsbury’s with a rating of 4.95 which bodes well for the supermarket giant, as they’re already in consumer good books in the run up to Easter.
The Cadbury white chocolate Creme Egg returned to its shelves and shoppers have been very excited – especially since the white chocolate treat sold out completely before Easter even arrived last year.
In joint first place for hygiene was M&S (picture: Getty Images)
In third place is Tesco which received an average hygiene rating of 4.93 out of five stars.
The good news just keeps coming where Tesco is concerned, after they announced in early January that Clubcard holders could snap up double points with more than 20 million shoppers expected to benefit from the perks.
Fourth on the list is Lidl – the only supermarket that managed to steal Aldi’s cheapest supermarket crown for just one month last year.
The supermarket chain received a hygiene score of 4.9 out of five stars on average.
But if we’ve got you paranoid about supermarket cleanliness now, supermarket expert Richard Price, of BritSuperstore, recommends taking the following precautions.
Richard says: ‘Keep an eye out for dirty floors, shelves or toilets. This might be an indication that hygiene practices are lacking.
‘Check that products are being stored properly. Meat, fish and other perishables should be stored at the right temperature. If food is not being stored correctly, this is an indicator that the store has poor hygiene practices.’
We should also be checking product expiration dates and inspecting meat and fish.
Richard adds: ‘Check that each product is in date and be very wary of damaged or torn packaging, as this might increase the risk of contamination. Some products, such as jars of sauces, have seals. If this seal is broken, tell a staff member and find a new product with the seal intact.
‘Make sure to carefully check the condition of meat and seafood. This should appear fresh, and all of the packaging should be intact. Look out for discolouration, bad odours or leaking fluids. These are sure signs not to purchase.’
Supermarkets like Waitrose and Asda were not included in this study’s findings.
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