A meat cutting plant in Bradford has been ordered to close by the local council’s environmental health team over fears that it is breaching food hygiene regulations.
The West Yorkshire Lamb, Beef and Poultry plant was recently raided by officers from Bradford City Council, with a quantity of chicken, which can cause serious cases of food poisoning if not stored and prepared safely, being seized.
The council has stated that the items seized had not been produced in “hygienic premises”. These items have now been destroyed after the council obtained a court order to do so, and the plant has also been ordered to close until legal requirements are met.
It is not yet clear which part of the plant’s operations, be it equipment, safety systems or levels of food hygiene training for staff members, is to blame for the hygiene breaches, and the firm which owns the plant has not commented. However, Bradford City Council’s Andrew Thornton has said:
“Bradford Council’s Environmental Health officers are working hard to ensure that the safety of the public is not put at risk.
“Businesses which buy wholesale meat must have the confidence that the premises where that meat is prepared is hygienic, meets all the standards required and is properly registered.”