Waitrose;

Good news – in terms of animal welfare and support for rural communities. This story tells us:

UK grocers a run for their money on the high street but Waitrose has bitten back by being named best supermarket at the Which? awards.

Waitrose beat off competition from Aldi, Lidl, Marks & Spencer and Ocado and was chosen by the consumer association for “performing consistently highly for its in-store and online offerings”. However, it also edged out its rivals because it managed to avoid the food safety issues, such as the horse-meat scandal, that have plagued others in the last year, Which? said.

The title of best retailer went to Waitrose’s sister business, John Lewis, for the second year running, beating off competition from Lakeland, Lush, Richer Sounds and Screwfix, although cosmetics firm Lush took the award for best customer service.

Bosch won best home appliance brand and Mazda took best car manufacturer, despite being one of four auto firms to have to recall vehicles with faulty air bags in 2013. It beat off competition from Audi, BMW, Honda and Skoda.

Best telecoms service provider went to giffgaff, which was praised or offering “excellent value for money”.

Waitrose managing director, Mark Price ,said: “The accolade honours the work that our sixty thousand partners do every day to ensure our customers get the best possible experience in our shops and online.”

Waitrose, the perennial middle-class favourite, was beaten to the top slot by discount supermarket Aldi in 2012 and 2013.