Food standards watchdogs are to carry out a major review of meat processing in the UK, after abuses were uncovered at a major supplier.
Hygiene breaches uncovered at the 2 Sisters Food Group led to an investigation by the English Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Now the FSA and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) are to review all UK sites where meat products are processed and stored.
Other incidents involving major meat processing businesses over the last six months have raised concerns over adherence to hygiene rules designed to keep consumers safe.
Also published today is the FSA’s update to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s inquiry into standards in poultry processing. Jason Feeney and Geoff Ogle, Chief Executives of the FSA and FSS respectively, jointly commented: “People rightly expect food businesses to keep to the rules, rules designed to keep consumers safe and to sustain public trust in food – and food businesses have a duty to follow the regulations. Our review will be far reaching and thorough and we will announce our initial findings in June.”
Meat industry leaders had pledged “full and effective engagement” with the review, they said.
The new initiative is intended to improve confidence in the meat industry and the ability of inspectors to act on breaches to minimise any risk to public health.
It will also assess how the industry currently operates across the whole supply chain and increase awareness of the circumstances which can lead to breaches, like those at 2 Sisters, where food safety records were tampered with.
The FSA says its investigation of 2 Sisters Food Group has been extensive, with 500 hours of CCTV examined and an audit of information from major retailers. The FSA have had a permanent presence at its cutting plants for four months.
The review will cover all plants, dealing with red meat, white meat and game, the responsibilities of businesses and regulators, and the procedure when products have to be withdrawn or recalled.
Jason Feeney, Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency said 2 Sisters had made a improvements across all their sites, adding: “These are measures we would like the whole industry to adopt.”
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