2 Sisters’ transparency move could be a game-changer for the food industry

The annus horribilis that 2 Sisters Food Group owner Ranjit Singh has faced in 2017 got even worse yesterday when The Guardian and ITV published fresh allegations against the poultry giant.

The latest story included claims Tesco auditors had discovered a series of “major” process issues at its Coupar Angus plant in Scotland, on the same weekend 2 Sisters’ West Bromwich cutting plant was closed to investigate the first scandal reported by The Guardian and ITV in September.

2 Sisters stresses “there is and never was any risk to food safety at Coupar Angus”, but this latest news story was yet another headache for the so-called Chicken King, who has had a chastening few months since allegations of food safety breaches at the West Bromwich factory first emerged.

Not only did the scandal see 2 Sisters’ retail customers temporarily halt supplies from the West Bromwich cutting plant – contributing to a 58% plunge in its operating profits for the 13 weeks to 28 October – but Singh and 2 Sisters technical director Chris Gilbert-Wood were hauled in front of the Commons Efra Committee for a painful grilling by MPs.

But rather than burying its head in the sand and waiting for the storm to pass, 2 Sisters this week decided to face this turmoil head on. It became the first British meat processor to commit to publishing the results of every audit conducted at its factories, including those over the past few turbulent months.

It was a savvy move, because by publishing the findings of its recent audit results, 2 Sisters almost immediately took the wind out of the sails of The Guardian and ITV’s latest allegations – which were based on “leaked” audit documents.

Improving standards

But it is also a move that could well be a game-changer for the meat industry. As the Efra Committee pointed out, the lack of transparency in the sector, particularly around sharing of audit results, is a major barrier to improving standards. So it isn’t surprising that the FSA - which is pushing for access to third party audits as part of its food safety regime overhaul - has welcomed the 2 Sisters decision.

And it’s not just transparency in cutting plants that counts. The industry needs to be more open about what happens at every step along the supply chain if it wants to avoid future scandals. So it was heartening to hear today that M&S and Waitrose have committed to publishing data on the amount of antibiotics used in their meat and dairy supply chains.

It’s taken a long time to get here, but as we approach the fifth anniversary of the horsegate scandal, we should welcome these first steps towards transparency. If the industry really wants to regain consumer trust and establish itself as a world leader on food safety standards and quality, honesty is undoubtedly the best policy.