Declaring its aim to be first in the industry to provide greater transparency in the food chain, U.K. poultry company 2 Sisters Food Group says it will publish the results of all audit and inspection outcomes.
In a statement, 2 Sisters Food Group (2SFG) says that transparency in the food chain helps to reassure consumers about safety, quality and provenance of their food purchases, and that the company has undertaken to provide this information.
“We will be the first in the industry to do this and we hope this bold step will allow us to work with regulators, standard owners and customers to develop a system for all to use,” the company said.
Between July and November of 2017, there were 150 audits or inspections at 2SFG’s chicken processing plants, 114 of which were unannounced. All were carried out by trained 3rd party auditors on behalf of various organizations as there is no one grading scheme for UK food businesses. Among those commissioning inspections are the Food Standards Agency and local authorities, quality assurance standards bodies such as the BRC Global Standards, Red Tractor and the Soil Association, and customers that may have their own requirements.
“Each of these bodies will look at similar areas of activity and control within our operations but from a different perspective and focus,” according to 2SFG.
The company says that none of the 150 audits and inspections carried out at 10 of its sites identified any food safety or legal issues.
Of the 62 issues raised that required improvement, all but three had been addressed by mid-December. At that time, a further 23 of the 475 points that could be improved were still outstanding.
2 Sisters welcomes 'extra scrutiny'
At the end of September 2017, 2SFG was at the center of UK media investigations alleging food safety breaches.
According to the company’s recent statement, “107 of these audits / inspections are since the Guardian / ITN media, showing the scrutiny that we have had since this event. To be clear, we welcome this extra scrutiny. Audits and inspections are a very effective tool for driving continuous improvement.”
In December, a further allegation over food safety breaches was made following an audit of 2SFG’s Coupar Angus site, which had been commissioned by retailer, Tesco.
“There is and never was any risk to food safety at Coupar Angus,” responded 2SFG at that time.
