More beef processed at the Isle of Man’s abattoir will need to be disposed of after an investigation by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA).
The department’s Environmental Health Unit (EHU) has been working closely with Isle of Man Meats since the start of the year after delays caused by a faulty packaging machine meant some product had to be destroyed. A small amount was also recalled as a precaution.
Since the incident, the EHU has been investigating to ensure all processes meet industry standards, and in recent days, identified concerns with certain processing practices.
This has resulted in the EHU issuing an instruction that Isle of Man Meats must dispose of some additional beef processed at the factory immediately, and a small amount of beef product that was sent to Tesco this week has been recalled.
Some further beef product had been sent to other local retailers, but all has been recalled and disposed of, before entering the consumer supply chain.
Dr Michelle Haywood MHK, Deputy DEFA Minister, said:
‘The health and wellbeing of consumers is paramount and as the regulator, the department is working closely with the Meat Plant team to ensure standards are being met.
‘Food waste, of any form, is a matter of regret in any business, especially in times of economic challenge and this decision was not taken lightly. Everyone involved understands the time and effort expended by our farmers in producing high quality stock for our local and export markets.’
As the investigation is ongoing, further actions may be required in the coming days and DEFA will inform the public and stakeholders of any updates.
