Rotten meat may have been sold in British supermarkets and is claimed to have even made its way to schools and hospitals.
The processor, which cannot be named for legal reasons, has been accused accused of mixing rotten pork in with the fresh product.
It's alleged that meat from the company ended up sold in supermarkets and the most rotten meat was said to have even reached schools, hospitals, care homes and prisons - who were indirectly supplied.
It was allegedly used up in products like ready meals, quiches and sandwiches - as none of the processor's customers were aware of its alleged practices.
Reported by Farmers Weekly, the company was also alleged to have sold up to “tens of thousands of tonnes a week” of foreign pork as British and is now under investigation.
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The shocking practice is said to have gone on until at least the end of 2020 and for at least two decades prior.
As well as hitting supermarket shelves, the rotten meat was said to have ended up in schools and hospitals (stock image) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)One way they reportedly dodged auditors, was having an employee push the suspect meat around the circle-shaped factory as the auditor went round too, so they never came across it
Former employees also told the outlet that the processor would regularly “wash” hams that were visibly off in an attempt to pass them off as fine.
They also alleged tests which reportedly showed the meat picked up bacteria like E-Coli and Listeria were said to have been buried, and paperwork falsified.
It was reported an ex-employee claimed that EU bacon medallions were bought for £1/kg and sold on as British ones for £12/kg.
Darren Davies, head of the FSA’s NFCU, said: "The FSA’s National Food Crime Unit is carrying out a criminal investigation into how a supplier was allegedly providing products labelled as British when they were in fact sourced from elsewhere.
"This is a complex and live investigation and we are looking into all new lines of enquiry with our partner organisations, including any potential food hygiene breaches at the premises. If any evidence of a food safety risk is found, then necessary action will be taken.
"The FSA advised retailers last year to check their cooked meat supply chain and to apply extra due diligence in their checks. We don’t give out these alerts without a reason.
"We will not name the supplier while we painstakingly gather evidence to support our investigation so as not to prejudice any possible future action by the courts.
"As a national regulator, we are the last line of defence. At a time when cost pressures and other challenges mean the risks of food fraud might be increasing, it is vital that everyone involved in the food system remains extra vigilant to ensure that food is safe and what it says it is."
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The British Retail Consortium (BRC) issued a statement on behalf of all the affected supermarkets.
It said: "The role of the FSA is to work with retailers to prevent fraud. While we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, retailers will support the FSA with its investigation into the individual supplier in question."
Norman Bagley, the group’s head of Operations, said: "Reading the response from Darren Davies, head of the Food Standard Agency’s NFCU, we note that they alerted retailers, possibly via the secure Food Industry Intelligence Network (FIIN) members area in May 2022, some 5 months after first advising the FSA board about there being a live high level food fraud investigation.
"The FIIN has, according to their website, just 58 members from a supply chain of thousands of food business operators.
"It is inexcusable that food manufacturers and foodservice businesses, some of whom supply some of society’s most vulnerable consumers, were not alerted at any time to date by the NFCU as to there either being a possibility of labelling fraud or of a risk to public health."
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