2 Sisters cleared in hygiene probe
BIRMINGHAM-based food group 2 Sisters has been cleared of hygiene criticisms after it was implicated in a newspaper probe.
The Food Standards Agency has carried out tests at two of the company’s plants and cleared both of them of problems.
The Guardian poultry industry probe claimed to have found that the UK poultry industry was guilty of hygiene breaches that could potentially spread the campylobacter bug.
Following the checks, the FSA rated the group’s Scunthorpe site as Good (the highest of four grades) and found its Llangefni Generally Satisfactory (second highest).
The tests were carried out after the Health Minister Jeremy Hunt said the public should feel confident the food they buy was safe.
2 Sisters, owner of Northern Foods and a leading poultry supplier to supermarkets, had consistently denied the newspaper allegations, claiming they were “untrue, misleading and inaccurate”.
Ranjit Singh, CEO of 2 Sisters Food Group, said: “We welcomed these audits and we are pleased the FSA has worked with typical rigor and thoroughness. We are satisfied with their findings which show that no legislative compliance issues were raised.”
“However, we must not be complacent. We operate our business in an environment of continual improvement and we will be carrying on with that to ensure we produce first-class British products for all of our customers.
“We will continue to be at the forefront of our sector by investing in our sites and leading from the front in tackling key challenges to our industry like campylobacter.”
In November 2013, 2 Sisters launched the UK’s biggest ever independent study into campylobacter, costing £6m and collecting data from 124m birds. The study, praised as sector-leading by the FSA, together with the group’s interim report will be published next year.
