According to ITV, acting on a tip-off, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has checked sites of Fairfax Meadow and ‘revealed concerns’ about used by dates and failing to properly label meat. They are withdrawing a range of beef products from pubs, bars, hotels and restaurants they supply.
The FSA insisted that the meat would need to be withdrawn as a precaution and Fairfax Meadow has agreed, however Fairfax Meadow turns over £160 million a year and the scale of this recall is great.
Fairfax Meadow has yet to provide full details on the recall but it is understood from ITV that it involves beef and a range of different cuts of steaks; including rib-eye, flat iron, baguette and featherblade.
Some big customers of Fairfax have had their beef recalled including: Jurys Inn, Greene King, Crowne Plaza, Marriott, Giraffe restaurants, Nando’s and Wetherspoons, who only recently changed their supplier due to their meat supplier, Russell Hume, having similar issues.
In a statement Faifax Meadow said:
“Fairfax Meadow is today (Sunday 11th February 2018) initiating a voluntary product withdrawal for certain batches of meat products with pack codes from 29 to 37 due to a product labelling concern raised by the FSA.
“This voluntary withdrawal reflects our desire to ensure our practices remain industry-leading and follows a dialogue with the FSA. It is being undertaken as a precautionary measure and has been promptly implemented.
“We have liaised with the FSA throughout and they have provided helpful guidance to us. Fairfax Meadow continues to operate as normal during this withdrawal period and no other products or deliveries are affected.”
Fairfax will be allowed to continue trading as normal after agreeing to “change procedures”. The FSA says it has no plans to take enforcement action against Fairfax.
As always we believe health and hygiene, is of the utmost importance when handling meat products. At each stage of our process, from arriving at our door to being delivered to the customer, we take care to keep your produce in the very best condition.
Random checks are carried out for correct temperature and cleanliness of vehicles and deliveries come in daily. We store all our products in dedicated chillers and all orders are prepared to specification to guarantee freshness and quality.
Our skilled butchers are allocated orders and their name is stamped on the box so we know who prepared it. We have an area dedicated to packaging which makes the handling process efficient so orders are not left waiting around and are dealt with quickly. Orders are labelled up with all the information needed for storage and then stored in dedicated chillers ready for dispatch by our own team in our temperature-controlled vehicles.
If you’re interested in changing suppliers to one of the South Coast’s leading catering butchers, then be sure to give us a call on 01424 730417. We deliver wholesale meat and other produce to customers in Sussex, Kent, Surrey and further afield by arrangement…