‘Chicken king’ in UK suspends op at scandal-hit plant

LONDON: Indian-origin “chicken king” Ranjit Singh Boparan’s food company in the UK has suspended poultry processing operations at a plant accused of serious safety breaches.

The 2 Sisters Food Group, one of the largest suppliers of chicken to supermarkets across the UK, said the action had been taken as a temporary measure at its West Bromwich factory in the West Midlands region of England to retrain staff on hygiene standards.

The company said in a statement on Monday that it was “shocked and distressed” by the allegations and the footage which emerged last week as part of a joint investigation by the ‘Guardian’ newspaper and ITV channel and have been “working around the clock” to get to the truth of the matter.

“Our internal investigation has shown some isolated instances of non-compliance with our own quality management systems. We have therefore decided to temporarily suspend operations at the site to allow us the time to retrain all colleagues including management in all food safety and quality management systems,” the statement said.

The company added that the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been in daily attendance since the allegations were raised and confirmed that it has “not identified any breaches”.

The move came after undercover footage showed an instance of 2 Sisters’ workers at the plant altering the source and slaughter date of poultry being processed in the firm’s plant.