Jail for two men operating dirty turkey cutting plant

Two turkey firm bosses have been jailed and ordered to pay £400,000 after they sold meat  which had defrosted in pools of dirty water outside their factory.

Severnside Provisions Ltd director Anthony O’Sullivan, 47, of Old Hill, Newport, Gwent, and manager Martin Lincoln, 56, of Amelia Way, Newport, pleaded guilty to a charge of selling food that was unsafe and 11 other food hygiene breaches.

At the trial in Newport Crown Court on 17 June, both men were sent to jail for 24 weeks each and ordered to pay a confiscation award of £271,815 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

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They were also told to pay costs of £35,185 to Newport City Council and Severnside Provisions Ltd  was fined £100,000.

The prosecutions followed an investigation in December 2013.

Environmental health officers found large quantities of turkey defrosting in dirty water in a yard. The meat was then being processed in a garage in unhygienic conditions.

The items found at the premises were seized and destroyed.

But some of the turkey had already been sold to butchers’ shops, restaurants and other outlets prompting a national recall by the Food Standards Agency.

Both men had been warned in 2010 that turkey processing was not permitted by their company.

However, records showed that large quantities of turkey were sold by Severnside Provisions in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Newport City Councillor Bob Poole said: “This company was putting people’s health at serious risk for the sake of profit.

“This case shows we take food safety seriously and we  act against those who don’t.”