A third of chickens eaten in UK may not be fresh An undercover investigation has revealed safety breaches at a factory operated by the UK’s largest supplier of chickens. 2 Sisters […]

An undercover investigation has revealed safety breaches at a factory operated by the UK’s largest supplier of chickens.

2 Sisters Food Group supplies a third of the chickens eaten in Britain and its poultry can be found in major supermarkets such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl.

Marks & Spencer and Aldi have suspended buying chicken from the food group following the investigation by The Guardian and ITV.

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Tampering with ‘kill dates’

An undercover reporter worked for 12 days in the factory known as ‘Site D’ in the West Midlands.

The reporter filmed workers changing both the slaughter dates and source codes on crates of chickens to artificially extend shelf lives of the poultry.

Tampering with source codes would make the chicken untraceable in the event of an outbreak of food poisoning.

“I have [changed the slaughter dates] lots of times when I was working in that area. My supervisor, he asked me do it… If you are buying fresh chicken it can be older chicken,” said a worker quoted in the investigation.

Changing kill dates leads the food processor to print incorrect use-by dates on packaging, making food seem fresher than it really is.

Use by date is about safety Use by date is about safety and the most important date to remember! Foods can be eaten (and most can be frozen) up until the use by date, but not after. You will see use by dates on food that goes off quickly, such as meat products or ready-prepared salads. For the use by to be a valid guide, you must carefully follow storage instructions. Best before date is about quality Best before date is about quality and not safety. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best. (FSA)

“Cut to the bone”

Professor Chris Elliot, a food scientist at Queen’s University Belfast, told ITV government cuts had imperiled food safety.

“It is my view that the environmental health services in the UK have been cut to the bone and cut to such an extent that things like this are probably happening more frequently than they should,” he said.

A second worker told the undercover reporter that production supervisors treated quality control staff at the 2 Sisters factory as “enemies”, that they were doing a “pointless job” and could easily be overruled.

“We have been made aware of several broad allegations made by The Guardian/ITV,” said 2 Sisters Food Group.

“If, on presentation of further evidence, it comes to light any verifiable transgressions have been made at any of our sites, we will leave no stone unturned in investigating and remedying the situation immediately.”

£3 billion-a-year food empire

2 Sisters annual revenue in 2016 was £3.1 billion, with an operating profit of £90.5 million.

The company processes six million chickens a week.

It is owned by Ranjit Singh Boparan and his wife Baljinder Kaur Boparan.

The Boparan family, who shy away from media attention, are worth £544 million, according to The Sunday Times rich list.

Their food empire includes turkey producer Bernard Matthews, restaurant chains Harry Ramsden, FishWorks and Giraffe, and brands Fox’s Biscuits and Goodfella’s pizza.

Dropped on floor

The investigation filmed chickens being dropped on the floor and then put back onto the production line.

It also found chicken portions sent back by supermarket distributors were repackaged and sent out to major grocers.

The findings come just four years after a scandal which led to prison sentences for those involved in passing off horse meat as beef.