UK firm is accused of passing off huge quantities of potentially unsafe foreign meat as British
Spoiled meat may have been sold to customers in British supermarkets for decades
- The allegations emerged following an investigation by the National Food Crim Unit
- The company supplied the product to leading supermarkets, schools and hospitals
- Former employees of the company say hams that were visibly broken were regularly washed and rotting pork was mixed with fresh product for processing
A British meat processor, which supplies leading supermarkets, schools and hospitals, has been accused of passing off huge quantities of potentially unsafe foreign meat as British.
The National Food Crime Unit, part of the Food Standards Agency, is said to have launched a major investigation.
Consumers have been kept in the dark about the potentially massive scandal, while a major industry trade body is furious that they were not informed of the investigation.
The details came to light about a decade after the crisis when horsemeat was sold as beef by major supermarkets, including Tesco, and fast food chains in burgers and ready meals.
The allegations have been revealed by Farmer’s Weekly and are based on the testimony of company employees, who have not been named pending possible prosecution.
The company has been accused by former employees of regularly “washing” visibly damaged hams and mixing rotting pork with fresh produce for further processing.
Other products, such as ox tongues, were not heated properly and meat was sometimes thawed on the shop floor
Other products, such as ox tongues, were not heated properly and meat was sometimes thawed on the shop floor.
It is also alleged that the paperwork for sampling, which would pick up dangerous food bugs like listeria and E. coli, was forged.
Schools, hospitals, care homes and prisons were also supplied indirectly, with one source claiming that the most spoiled meat would end up there.
An anonymous employee told Farmers Weekly, “It used to get me to a point where I thought, we’re going to kill someone.” Another said, “There were days when I sat outside in my car crying because I didn’t want to go inside. It was that bad.’ There is no suggestion that any of the processor’s clients knew about the criminal activity, which took place for at least two decades up to 2020 and possibly beyond.
The head of the National Food Crime Unit, Darren Davies, said retailers were made aware of the problem last year but there had been no public announcement about the potentially massive scandal.
Schools, hospitals, care homes and prisons were also supplied indirectly, with one source claiming that the most spoiled meat would end up there (stock image)
He said: ‘The FSA’s National Food Crime Unit is conducting a criminal investigation into how a supplier allegedly supplied products labeled as British when in fact they came from elsewhere.
“The FSA advised retailers last year to monitor their cooked meat supply chain and to apply additional due diligence to their audits. We don’t issue these warnings without reason.’
The food wholesalers supplied by the processor are shocked by the allegations and are conducting their own investigation.
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers’ (Aims), which represents processors, accused the Food Crime Unit of not informing them of their investigation.
The group’s head of operations, Norman Bagley, said: “It is inexcusable that food manufacturers and foodservice companies, some of whom supply some of society’s most vulnerable consumers, have not at any point to date been warned by the NFCU that there are either a possibility of labeling fraud or of a risk to public health.’