Poultry processor sentenced for 36 food hygiene offences
A man running a £4M illegal poultry business at Fishponds Trading Estate in Bristol was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 200 hours of community service at Bristol Crown Court, in November.
Kamran Ajaib was prosecuted for running a meat cutting plant without approval, 36 food hygiene violations, including failure to register a business and fraudulent use of health marks.
A complaint from a resident in the Bristol area, who found a piece of wire in chicken bought from a local takeaway, sparked a joint investigation by Bristol City Council, Environmental Health Officers (EHO), the Food Standards Agency and police and councils across Wales, the West Country and the Irish Republic.
John Barrow, principal EHO with Bristol City Council, said it was an “extraordinary case” that put the public and local businesses at risk.
“We found tonnes of chicken and beef in an industrial unit, which, although in an unfinished state, was in daily use as a poultry cutting plant. The premises were in a very poor state and with serious hygiene defects, which would have precluded the company from being approved as a cold store or cutting plant, had they applied.”
The judge also ruled Ajaib’s assets of £51,000, including the equity on his house, should be seized.
