Chicken pulled from supermarket shelves after supplier accused of hygiene failings
‘We have suspended supply from this site while we carry out an urgent investigation into these allegations’
SUPERMARKETS are removing packs of chicken from their shelves after an investigation uncovered questionable hygiene practices at a major supplier.
M&S, Aldi and Lidl removed millions of chickens supplied by the 2 Sisters Food Group-owned West Bromwich factory from sale yesterday. Undercover footage obtained by ITV and The Guardian allegedly showed workers dropping chicken on the floor before returning it to the production line, fiddling dates, and repackaging portions returned by supermarkets for other rival stores.
Experts warned yesterday that food safety watchdogs are too short-staffed to tackle dangerous practices.
The 2 Sisters group is the largest supplier of poultry meat to supermarkets. After the disclosures the Food Standards Agency (FSA) visited the site but said it had found no evidence of safety breaches. Paul Morris, of the product hygiene firm Addmaster, said it was “shocking” that such practices appear to have been going on under authorities’ noses. He added: “The reality is that the FSA do not have the appetite or the resources to challenge supermarkets, as they are thinly staffed and underfunded. Supermarkets have just been granted permission to test their own chickens for superbugs, which is very dangerous especially in light of these allegations.”
M&S said it had “commenced an immediate investigation” into claims that workers in the factory were changing slaughter dates of poultry. It added that it “will not be taking any more product from this site until [the investigation] has concluded to our satisfaction”.
Aldi said it had “suspended supply from this site while we carry out an urgent investigation”. Lidl added: “We launched an investigation with the supplier and can confirm that we will not be sourcing from those sites until the investigations have been satisfactorily concluded”. Tesco and Sainsbury’s have launched their own investigations.
Supermarkets did not suggest that they would be permanently ceasing to stock chicken from the site at this stage.
2 Sisters said it took the allegations “extremely seriously”. “If, on presentation of further evidence, it comes to light any verifiable transgressions have been made at any of our sites, we will leave no stone unturned in investigating and remedying the situation immediately,” the company said.