Food Safety

Food safety is non-negotiable in the meat industry. By law, selling meat that is unsafe, hazardous to health or unfit for human consumption is illegal. Meat that is fit for consumption can still be sold, but it can lack in quality. For retail and wholesale butchers, selling poor-quality or poorly handled meat can lead to food poisoning and damage to the business’s reputation. This is why it is vital to partner with a safe and trustworthy wholesale meat supplier, like HP Westwood.

How Do We Ensure Food Safety?

Since 1937, we have been fully committed to ensuring all of our products meet the necessary industry requirements including the Food Standards Agency at all stages of our operations, from sourcing, handling and storing through to transportation and delivery. We ensure food safety by the following requirements and practices:

Long shot of 4 brown cows playing in a field

Traceability

Food safety begins at the start of the supply chain - with our farmers. We source locally-reared meat from farmers in our home region of Staffordshire. In addition, we require our farmers to follow good practices. For instance, they must carry out stringent checks on their livestock to undercover any diseases or airborne contamination that can affect food safety. Working with local farmers means our clients know exactly where their meat comes from.

Hygiene & Cleanliness

We maintain the highest levels of hygiene and cleanliness in our cutting plant premises to prevent contamination and pest infestation. All of our work areas, surfaces and equipment are regularly cleaned and disinfected using non-toxic substances. This means as livestock moves through our premises, food safety is maintained and intact.

Image of pigs with the Red Tractor label in the top left hand corner

Red Tractor Assured

Our cutting plant premises and our farmers are accredited with the Red Tractor, the UK’s largest food chain assurance scheme. It covers multiple areas such as food production, animal welfare, food safety, traceability and environmental protection. The Red Tractor logo shows our clients that our meat products are 100% British and safely produced, from farm to fork.

female worker checking the temperature of a beef carcass

Temperature Control

To further maintain food safety, we ensure our fresh meat products are handled, stored and transported at the ideal temperature to minimise the risk of contamination. We monitor the correct environments through the use of cold rooms, commercial refrigeration systems and temperature monitoring devices.

meat factory worker gathering packed meat on a conveyor belt

Training

We also provide regular training to our staff on food safety including the importance of PPE, personal hygiene, cleaning, sanitation, handling and packaging of meat and waste management. This ensures our staff maintain food safety standards by performing good practices. Our staff are also trained in HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) principles to identify food safety hazards and take appropriate action.

What Food Safety Means To Us

As a leading wholesale meat supplier in Staffordshire, our top priority is to deliver safe and high-quality meat to our clients. We work closely with our butchering clients, giving them peace of mind that they are receiving a product that is safe to consume and provides great satisfaction to new and returning customers. To learn more about food safety practices at HP Westwood, please contact us. We will be happy to provide you with more information.