This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Three of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains have halted deliveries of chicken from a factory belonging to the country’s biggest poultry supplier after undercover filming revealed poor hygiene standards and food safety records being altered.

The 2 Sisters Food Group, which owns the site, is also facing a “short, sharp” parliamentary inquiry in the wake of evidence uncovered by a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News, which showed footage of workers altering the source and slaughter date of poultry being processed at the plant in West Bromwich. Experts said their actions could artificially stretch the commercial life of the meat and dupe consumers into buying chicken past its use-by date.



Other footage showed chicken being picked off the floor and being thrown back on to the production line, and older poultry being mixed with fresher birds.

The chairman of parliament’s environment, food and rural affairs committee, Neil Parish, said he was preparing to call the founder of 2 Sisters, Ranjit Singh Boparan, to Westminster to answer questions about the scandal. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) launched its own investigation into the company, which produces a third of all poultry products eaten in the UK.

Marks & Spencer said the footage showed “unacceptable” standards. All chicken received from the plant had been cleared from its shelves as a precautionary measure and all further deliveries had been stopped until M&S completed its own investigation of conditions in the chicken factory.

Marks & Spencer said: “We have commenced an immediate investigation into these allegations and will not be taking any more product from the West Bromwich site until it has concluded to our satisfaction.



“The standards shown in the footage are unacceptable, we take hygiene and traceability very seriously and have extremely high production standards.”

Aldi and Lidl said they had also suspended supplies from the food processor, while Tesco and Sainsbury’s had launched their own investigations.

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Parish said: “It would be good if we could have a short, sharp inquiry. We need to restore both food safety, animal welfare and consumer confidence to these massive chicken plants run by 2 Sisters.

“We would certainly head for the highest levels of the company and ask them to present evidence to us. We are producing chicken to a very high standard in this country. We have got to make sure that welfare and food safety through the processing plants are carried out properly. In this case, it is not and it has to be put right immediately.”

The prospect of the publicity-shy Boparan being called in front of parliamentarians emerged as the FSA said it had begun “liaising with the local authority in regards to taking the investigation forward and will consider whether offences have been committed”.



Play Video 3:38 Undercover inside the chicken factory – video

The joint investigation involved taking secret recordings during a spell of 12 working days inside 2 Sisters’ plant in West Bromwich. It revealed evidence of:

• An instance of workers altering the “kill date” of hundreds of chickens to one day later in August. Simultaneously, workers changed records of where chickens had been slaughtered, potentially hindering authorities from recalling contaminated meat during food scares.

• Chicken portions which had been returned by supermarket distribution centres being repackaged by 2 Sisters and sent out again to rival grocers.

• Workers dropping chicken on the floor of the processing plant and returning it to the production line.

• Chickens slaughtered on different dates being mixed on the production line. Workers said use-by dates printed on the packets of the mixed chicken tended to reflect the age of the freshest, rather than oldest, meat in the batch.

A spokesman for 2SFG said: “We have now had an opportunity to view all the evidence and launch our own internal investigation. This is ongoing and we will ensure our inquiries are comprehensive and thorough. We will of course continue to work closely with all stakeholders during this investigative phase.”



The FSA said inspectors visited the West Bromwich plant on Thursday and found no evidence of breaches. “However we continue to review the evidence and if any incidences of non-compliance are found we will take prompt and proportionate action with the business concerned, working closely with the local authority.

“We would urge ITV and the Guardian to share any additional evidence, including witness statements, that would inform our investigation.”

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It said the plant was regularly audited by the FSA and subjected to unannounced inspections. It urged anyone with information in relation to the investigation to get in contact.

2 Sisters Food Group is the UK’s second largest food company by turnover and claims to process around 6 million chickens a week.

It is owned by Boparan and his wife, Baljinder Kaur Boparan, and the chicken operations – which include 12 sites in the UK – are part of a sprawling £3bn food empire that separately includes the turkey producer Bernard Matthews, the restaurant chains Harry Ramsden, FishWorks and Giraffe, plus food brands such as Fox’s Biscuits and Goodfella’s pizza.

The Boparans, who have always shunned publicity, are worth £544m, according to the Sunday Times rich list.

The company said: “2SFG ensures all staff are fully trained on hygiene and safety matters, and enforces a number of policies to ensure compliance with all regulations. It is subject to regular audits in these areas and staff have a number of ways in which to voice their concerns.”