Food manufacturer claims industry first on transparency

2 Sisters, the food manufacturer at the centre of hygiene allegations, has continued its efforts to restore its reputation by sharing inspection outcomes.

It is claiming an industry first with its move to greater transparency as it promises to “share all the Audit and Inspection outcomes from our customers, standard owners and regulatory bodies”.

In September an investigation by the Guardian and ITN made claims about 2 Sisters handling and labelling of chicken products at one of its West Midlands factories.

Its customers, which include most of the major supermarkets and food retailers, regulators and Parliament all sought answers from the Birmingham-based manufacturer.

2 Sisters says its move to openness is a response to concerns raised by the Parliamentary select committee “at the lack of joined up intelligence and knowledge sharing across the food industry amongst manufacturers, regulators and retailers”.

The first wave of information, broken down for its 10 sites, covers the period from July to November.

It received 150 audits and inspections, of which 107 came in the period since the media allegations.

Site D, the West Bromwich factory that was the subject of the undercover investigation, was checked 28 times.

2 Sisters emphasised that no food safety issues were found. 62 issues where a system or process required improvement were raised, but only three remain unresolved, the company said.

Food safety specialist BRC has rated all of the sites A or AA, with more than half receiving the rating after unannounced audits.

It said: “2SFG produces safe food every day. We always seek to operate in a way that fully meets the expectations of our customers and regulators whilst continuously improving our operation.

“These audits / inspections, the insight they give us and the remedial action taken is an important part in the continuous improvement cycle.”