Rat-infested factory sold diseased meat for food, court told

Thousands of tons of condemned poultry intended for fertiliser and pet food was packaged at a rat-infested factory and sold for human consumption to manufacturers over a five-year period, a court heard yesterday.

Millions of chicken and turkey carcasses that should have been processed for pet food or rendering were instead prepared and packaged as chicken fillets at the dilapidated factory for huge profits, it was claimed. The former slaughterhouse in Derbyshire was partly open to the elements and some areas were covered in water contaminated with sewage, Nottingham Crown Court was told.

Denby Poultry Products bought the meat for as little as £25 per ton. It was often left exposed in giant skips before being processed, and then sold for up to £1,792 per ton, the jury was told. It included poultry that was dead on arrival and potentially infected with dangerous diseases. Some of the meat showed signs of disease including hepatitis and the food poisoning bug E.coli.

Other chickens and turkeys had been dropped on the floor, had broken bones or were bruised, the court heard.

The jury was told that the chicken waste was picked up from slaughterhouses across the UK in maggot-infested vans and the same, unrefrigerated vehicles were later used to deliver the dressed and packaged poultry.

Customers included food processing firms in Milton Keynes, Northampton and Bury, which supplied chicken fillets, ready meals and chicken products to leading supermarkets and old people's homes. The Northampton company also used the chicken to produce a leading brand of meat paste, said Ben Nolan QC, for the prosecution.

"This company, who manufactured own-brand pastes for a major, well-known supermarket chain, had to initiate an expensive product recall," said Mr Nolan.

Mr Nolan said the Northampton company also supplied residential care homes for the elderly and that B Davies Meats, in Bury, supplied another leading supermarket chain. The court heard that SJ Watson, a firm based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was also packaging the meat for it to be sold at markets.

Jurors were told that during the conspiracy, one million pounds in weight of unfit chicken and turkey was supplied into the human food chain.

Mr Nolan said the Denby factory had been a former slaughterhouse which had been granted status as a pet food processing factory.

"Those in control in Denby generated a turnover of at least £836,000," said Mr Nolan.

Five men, a former owner of Denby, a delivery driver from the company and three former customers, deny conspiracy. The alleged scam is said to have run from 1995 to 2001.

Mr Nolan said: "Over the whole period of this alleged conspiracy very large quantities of condemned poultry made its way into the human food chain at significant risk to public health."

Mr Nolan said an informant uncovered the conspiracy in December 2000 and a police surveillance operation was launched. Several police forces and the Food Standards Agency were involved and a series of raids were carried out on premises in Denby and across the country in March 2001.

Peter Roberts, aged 68, from Chaddesden, Derby; Brian John Davies, 64, from Bury, Greater Manchester; Brian Paul Davies, 37, also from Bury; Simon Haslam, 39, of Belper, Derbyshire; and David Watson, 38, of Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, are alleged to have carried out the scam. Jurors were told that Mr Roberts had failed to appear at court and is being tried in his absence.

The jury was told that Mr Roberts was the owner of Denby Poultry until 2000 and Mr Haslam was a delivery driver whose bank account had been used to launder money from the scam.

Brian John Davies and his son, Brian Paul Davies, ran the Bury company, Mr Watson ran S J Watson.

The trial continues.