This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A meat company has voluntarily recalled products after an unannounced inspection revealed issues with use-by date labelling.

On Sunday, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced that checks on sites run by Fairfax Meadow uncovered problems with how the company was applying use-by dates on some products.



Fairfax Meadow is a major supplier of meat to pubs, bars, hotels, caterers and “some of the best fine dining restaurants” in the UK, according to its website, processing thousands of tonnes of meat a year.

The announcement comes weeks after Russell Hume, which supplied meat to high street chains, including Wetherspoon and Greene King, was ordered to recall products due to “non-compliance with food hygiene regulations”.

The FSA said Fairfax Meadow responded immediately to its concerns following Thursday’s inspections and had quickly taken steps to remove all potentially affected products from circulation.

“This voluntary withdrawal reflects our desire to ensure our practices remain industry-leading and follows a dialogue with the FSA,” said Penny Tomlinson, the company’s managing director. “It has been undertaken as a precautionary measure and has been promptly implemented.”

It is not known how many products or packs are affected and the FSA said there was no indication that members of the public had fallen ill before the product recall.

The watchdog added: “Public health remains our top priority and at no stage has there been any indication that people have become ill from eating meat supplied by Fairfax Meadow. We, along with local authorities, are continuing to assess the situation and we are working with the business to oversee their product withdrawal.”