The most hygienic and clean supermarket brand in the UK has been revealed - and it isn't one of the big four. 

The study by Property Inspect used data from the Food Standards Agency to identify the percentage of each supermarket’s stores that received a maximum rating of five in their latest inspection.

Asda, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Iceland, Aldi, Lidl and the Co-op all went head to head for the new analysis.

Aldi was named highest-ranked supermarket for hygiene standards with a hygiene score of 99.73%.

Aldi was followed by Waitrose at 98.24% and M&S at 96.72%.

Echo: Photo via Aldi.Photo via Aldi.

It comes after a study published by NFU Mutual in 2020 revealed how the pandemic has led to more consumers checking the hygiene ratings of the supermarkets they shop in.

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The most hygienic supermarket chains in order, according to analysis by Property Inspect

  • Aldi – 724 out of 774 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 99.73%
  • Waitrose – 335 out of 341 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 98.24%
  • Marks & Spencer (M&S) – 442 out of 457 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 96.65%
  • Sainsbury’s – 1184 out of 1225 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 96.65%
  • Iceland – 692 out of 726 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 95.32%
  • Lidl – 655 out of 703 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 93.17%
  • Tesco – 2061 out of 2228 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 92.50%
  • Morrisons – 429 out of 466 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 92.06%
  • Asda – 475 out of 530 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 89.62%
  • Co-op – 2100 out of 2369 stores with a 5 hygiene rating, 88.64%

Richard Thornton, communications director at Aldi UK, said: “Customer and colleague safety remains the number one priority in all our stores across the UK, and we take pride in meeting the highest standards.

"Our top rating in this latest analysis of the Food Standards Agency hygiene scheme is thanks to the excellent work of our store teams in ensuring all Aldi stores are clean, safe and welcoming for the millions of customers that shop at Aldi.”