Dozens of Morrisons stores fail food hygiene rules
More than 30 Morrisons stores have been told they must improve their hygiene standards after visits by safety inspectors.
Two Morrisons stores in Bristol and Chingford, east London, received a score of zero over the past year, meaning they need to urgently act to address food safety concerns, while 10 were scored a one in their latest inspection. This means major improvement is necessary.
Twenty other Morrisons stores, in cities including Sheffield, Milton Keynes and Epsom Downs, were told they needed to make some improvements, getting a score of two.
Food safety inspectors decide their ratings based on a number of factors, including whether food is handled hygienically and if it is safe to eat. They also track if buildings have enough hand washing facilities and their pest control measures to enable good food hygiene. These inspections typically take place at least every two years.
According to data that was first reported by The Grocer, Morrisons ranked worse than rival supermarkets, with Asda, Sainsbury's and Lidl having no stores ranking below a score of two. Tesco had 15 stores which were called out for poor hygiene.
It will be viewed as the latest sign of pressure at Morrisons, which has been struggling to plot a turnaround.
This month, Morrisons said sales had fallen by more than £1bn in its latest financial year to £17bn. This marked the supermarket's lowest annual revenues since its private equity takeover in 2021.
The supermarket is grappling with high debt costs in the wake of its £10bn takeover by Clayton Dubilier & Rice, a private equity firm. In the year to November 2024, Morrisons recorded £701m of finance costs.
Rami Baitiéh, Morrisons' chief executive, has been battling to revive the supermarket's fortunes, having pledged to 'reinvigorate' the supermarket.
However, recent industry data has suggested that it is now on the brink of falling behind Lidl in the rankings of Britain's biggest supermarkets. Worldpanel's most recent data showed Morrisons' market share stood at 8.4pc, while Lidl's was at 8.3pc.
Morrisons did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
However, a spokesman told The Grocer: 'The food safety within our supermarkets, convenience and franchise operated stores is really important to us. We have taken immediate action to address and resolve all issues raised – some of which have very specific and isolated issues. We are awaiting re-rating inspections in a number of stores.'
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