One out of every 10 UK Londis and Premier stores received a failed food hy­giene rating between 2022 and 2024, according to Food Guard. The food-safety firm analysed hygiene ratings of major supermarkets and symbol groups over the period.

It found 12.12% of Pre­mier and 12.91% of Londis stores were the worst per­formers and had the low­est 0-2 ratings. Meanwhile, 5.48% of Nisa stores also fell into the failing category.

Twenty-five percent of Spar stores and 16.33% of Midcounties Co-op sites achieved a pass of 3-4, and 98% of Marks & Spencer and Waitrose shops hit top 5 ratings.

Concerning trends

Food Guard said: “This analysis of hygiene rat­ings has uncovered some concerning trends and highlighted the urgent need for certain retailers to step up their game.

“More than one in 10 [Premier and Londis] stores failed to meet basic hygiene standards, put­ting consumers at poten­tial risk. While these ratings indicate that [Spar and Co-op] are generally meeting hygiene require­ments, there is still room for improvement to reach the highest standards.”

Ranked on a scale of 0 – 5, any rating of 2 or lower is considered a fail. Busi­nesses who receive a 0 are required to make urgent improvement, followed by major improvement (1) and some improvement (2). Ratings of 3 to 5 mean hygiene standards are sat­isfactory to very good.

Businesses that don’t improve on a fail can face a fine or imprisonment.

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