FSA passes poultry sites accused of poor hygiene
2 Sisters Food Group has said two sites the Guardian newspaper accused of hygiene failings have passed subsequent Food Standards Agency (FSA) audits.
A spokesman for the company said its poultry plants in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, and Llangefni, Anglesey, received ratings of “Good” and “Generally Satisfactory” respectively from the government agency.
The audit followed a Guardian investigation into the company in which the report claimed a combination of secret filming, photographs and whistleblower accounts uncovered poor hygiene practices at the two sites. It also claimed that the malpractice could be contributing to campylobacter poisoning in humans.
Following the story’s publication, health secretary Jeremy Hunt ordered an immediate inspection of the two sites.
See also: Poultry processors deny accusations of dirty practice
2 Sisters has strongly denied the allegations labelling them “untrue, misleading and inaccurate”, adding: “The UK has one of the most stringent food safety regimes in the world. 2 Sisters – like all food processors – is regularly audited by the FSA, Defra and the British Retail Consortium. This is in addition to regular unannounced customer audits and internal audits.”
“We welcomed these audits and we are pleased the FSA has worked with typical rigour and thoroughness. We are satisfied with their findings which show that no legislative compliance issues were raised.”
Ranjit Singh, 2 Sisters Food Group
Chief executive officer Ranjit Singh said of the audit: “We welcomed these audits and we are pleased the FSA has worked with typical rigour and thoroughness. We are satisfied with their findings which show that no legislative compliance issues were raised.
“However, we must not be complacent. We operate our business in an environment of continual improvement and we will be carrying on with that to ensure we produce first-class British products for all of our customers.”
The company added the latest results of campylobacter monitoring put rates across its UK sites at 15.4%, a 3% improvement on the previous quarter, which it said ran contrary to claims in the national media that two-thirds of poultry was contaminated.