2 Sisters publishes audit data on all its factories

“We will be the first in the industry to do this and we hope this bold step will allow us to work with regulators, standard owners and customers to develop a system for all to use,”​ the company claimed.

The manufacturer has published audit data for all of its UK production sites from July 1 to the end of the November this year.

There have been 150 audits of the poultry processor’s site by a number of standards bodies during this period and none identified food safety issues, said 2SFG.

Organisations such as British Retail Consortium Global Standards, Red Tractor and the Soil Association carry out regular inspections of 2 Sisters sites, in additions to audits by its customers – such as Tesco.

There have been 107 audits held since an undercover investigation by The Guardian ​and ITN claimed to have found food safety failings at 2 Sisters’ West Bromwich plant.

‘Meets the expectations of our customers’​

“We always seek to operate in a way that fully meets the expectations of our customers and regulators whilst continuously improving our operation,” ​said 2SFG.

“These audits and inspections, the insight they give us and the remedial action taken is an important part in the continuous improvement cycle.”​

While the audits highlighted some areas in need of improvement, none of the non-conformances identified food safety issues, said 2 SFG. During 96 of those audits, non-conformances were notified to the company.

The average number of non-conformances raised by site during an audit or inspection was 3.6, with an average of 0.02 non-conformances still under scrutiny. A full list of the company’s audit results can be found in the box below.

2SFG said it had decided to publish the results due to growing pressure from regulators and consumer groups for greater transparency within the food supply chain.

‘Lack of joined up intelligence’​

“The recent select committee raised a concern at the lack of joined up intelligence and knowledge sharing across the food industry amongst manufacturers, regulators and retailers,”​ it said.

The move came as The Guardian ​and ITV News claimed that Tesco auditors had unearthed a series of “major” ​process issues​ at 2 sisters’ factory in Coupar Angus, Scotland, which occurred on the same weekend that the West Bromwich site was closed.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Boparan Holdings reported operating profit down by 57.6% to £8.4M –​ after the temporary closure of its 2 Sisters’ West Bromwich poultry plant – in its first-quarter results.