In the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confessed that it was wrong in clearing the 2 Sisters poultry plant in Scunthorpe as having acceptable standards of hygiene and good practice.
An undercover investigation by The Guardian, the prominent UK newspaper, revealed instances of chickens being returned to production lines after having been dropped on the floor. It is only now that the FSA has accepted that 2 Sisters was guilty of breaching legislation. Supermarkets affected include Sainsbury's, Tesco and Aldi.
The UK health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, requested that the factory in Scunthorpe be investigated by the FSA in the wake of the Guardian's exposé, and it was passed as not breaking hygiene regulations. In a dramatic backtracking, the FSA has now changed tack entirely, and admitted that hygienic standards were not adhered to, and that the initial assessment was erroneous.
Labour MP Huw Irranca-Davies, who has been strongly critical of government inaction on the matter, stated, "First we were told that there had been no breaches of hygiene regulations, then the FSA writes to clarify that a breach of hygiene regulations did in fact take place, but that no enforcement action will be taken.
"Consumers rightly demand that the meat they buy in supermarkets is of good quality and has been processed safely and hygienically in line with the law. Consumers will wonder why no enforcement action has been taken when breaches of hygiene regulations have occurred."
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly.
