MPs pledge to keep 'close eye' on 2 Sisters audits

MPs will keep a “close eye” on poultry giant 2 Sisters as it works to regain consumer confidence in the wake of recent scandals, Efra chair Neil Parish has vowed.

2 Sisters announced on Tuesday (19 December) it would become the first UK meat company to publish the results of every audit undertaken at its factories in what it described as a “bold step” towards transparency.

The move came as The Guardian and ITV published fresh allegations against the poultry processor, claiming Tesco auditors had unearthed a series of “major” process issues at its factory in Coupar Angus, Scotland, on the same weekend as its West Bromwich site was closed over food safety breach concerns.

Commenting on these latest developments, Parish said the Efra Committee was “pleased” 2 Sisters had committed to publicly sharing its audit data. However, he added he was very concerned the poultry processor had not volunteered the information from the audit of Coupar Angus during the inquiry into West Bromwich.

The latest “revelations” vindicated the Committee’s recommendation the FSA should receive audits carried out on behalf of retailers, he insisted.

“2 Sisters’ decision to publish its audit results, therefore, should not be seen as a ‘bold step’ for the industry, but as a necessary means for it to regain consumer confidence after the disarray exposed in the Guardian and ITV’s investigation,” said Parish.

“My committee has promised to keep a close eye on 2 Sisters as it works to regain this confidence, and we have every intention of doing so.”

2 Sisters said it took the latest allegations “very seriously” but insisted “there is and never was any risk to food safety” at Coupar Angus. “This is using old news to highlight issues which were resolved with our customer two months ago,” said a spokesman.

Tesco stressed its inspections had not identified any regulatory breaches at 2 Sisters’ sites. “Our inspection highlighted a number of inadequate processes at [the Coupar Angus] site, including labelling, segregation, traceability and recording. We insisted these were addressed immediately to prevent any food safety issues,” said a spokeswoman.