FSA to check on chicken freshness

Chicken use-by dates could be misleading

The Food Standards Agency is to investigate claims that shoppers are being misled about the freshness of supermarket chicken.

A report by the consumer magazine Which? says use-by dates can be meaningless, because chicken can legally be re-packaged several times.

They say an industry insider told them chickens may have been dead for up to 20 days before going to supermarkets.

Supermarkets have responded by saying their chicken is safe to eat.

The British Poultry Council has dismissed the claims saying they are not based on any solid evidence.

Not illegal

According to the Which? report, if a plant has surplus meat at the end of the day, it can put a new use-by date on the pack and send it out the next day.

This means chicken could be re-dated several times, with no track of how old the meat actually is.

The MHS source told the magazine: "Once processing plants begin to re-date chicken, they quickly lose control of it."

Not only are consumers being misled about freshness,... unfit meat could be finding its way into the food chain Which?

Most supermarkets sell meat that was slaughtered seven to nine days earlier.

However the article claims re-dating chicken could mean people are buying meat that was slaughtered 20 days previously, without even knowing it.

This practice is not actually illegal.

The Food Standards Agency said inspections at the plant and at the supermarket ensure that meat being sold is fit to eat.

However the magazine editor, Malcolm Coles, criticised the agency for ignoring the issue.

"The fact that processors can legally get away with re-dating and re-labelling raw chicken several times means that, not only are consumers being misled about freshness, but that unfit meat could be finding its way into the food chain."

'Unfit'

Trade union Unison has called on the FSA to make the practice illegal, and asked for a review of levels of supervision in poultry plants.

David Statham, the FSA's Director of Enforcement and Food Standards, said it would be looking into the matter.

"If these practices are going on, they would be unacceptable," he said.

The claim that fresh chicken 20 days old may be being sold to retailers is unbelievable because it would be obviously off. Peter Bradnock, Chief Executive, British Poultry Council

"Manufacturers have a legal duty to produce chicken that is safe to eat - and this includes applying accurate use by dates.

"Any producer who extended the use-by date on chicken, so that it was unfit by the time it reached the consumer, would be liable to prosecution under the Food Safety Act."

Peter Bradnock, Chief Executive of the British Poultry Council, denied the magazine's claims.

"It is not the practice to extend use-by dates. The claim that fresh chicken 20 days old may be being sold to retailers is unbelievable because it would be obviously off.

"British shoppers can have full confidence in the quality and safety of the chicken they buy."

'Safe'

Sainsbury's said it routinely checked quality and safety, and there was no evidence of tampering with use-by dates by its suppliers.

"All use-by dates applied to our own brand products are set by Sainsbury's food safety experts to ensure the product is both safe and of the best quality."

Morrisons and Safeway said: "We can confirm that no fresh chicken sold in our stores has been relabelled and repackaged to extend its use-by date."

Tesco said: "We pride ourselves on the quality and safety of our products. The shelf life of all our chicken is based on and checked for both quality and safety and is sold well within these limits."