Chicken supplier broke food safety rules – claim

An investigation has allegedly revealed breaches of food safety rules at a factory belonging to one of the largest suppliers of chicken to UK supermarkets.

An undercover reporter working at a West Midlands site belonging to the 2 Sisters Food Group claimed to witness workers tampering with slaughter dates to artificially extend the meat’s shelf life.

Meat of different ages was also mixed together and codes on crates of meat were changed, the investigation by ITV News and the Guardian claimed. Changing the codes means the meat would be untraceable in the event of an outbreak of food poisoning.

The reporter also saw employees at the multi-million-pound business returning potentially contaminated chicken to the production line after it had fallen on the floor, the two news organisations said.

2 Sisters supplies to supermarkets across the UK including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl and Marks and Spencer.

ITV News and the Guardian said in a statement that more than 20 workers had confirmed the unhygienic practices took place while some said they will no longer eat chicken from supermarkets.

Some workers also claimed the chicken that supermarkets reject is sometimes repackaged at the factory and sent out again.

Quality assurance workers told journalists they are intimidated by production managers and worry about being sent home if they try to enforce food hygiene rules.

Founded in 1993 by Ranjit Singh Boparan, the company employs 23,000 staff. Although it has diversified, the bulk of the group’s income still comes from processing poultry.

The company told the investigation: “We view these allegations extremely seriously. However, we have not been given the time or the detailed evidence to conduct any thorough investigations to establish the facts, which makes a fulsome and detailed response very difficult.

“What we can confirm is that hygiene and food safety will always be the number-one priority within the business.”

It said it was subject to regular inspections by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and other hygiene standards organisations.