Stockton-based supplier of beef and lamb, Cleveland Meat Company, has ceased trading and appointed joint administrators, following the Food Standard Agency’s (FSA) decision to suspend the plant’s operations after finding evidence of “serious deficiencies”.
Up to 150 jobs are estimated to have been lost as a result of the closure, and although some staff have been retained, it is anticipated that they will ultimately be made redundant.
FSA gave the company the opportunity to “provide adequate guarantees over future production”, following its routine review that unearthed the deficiencies, with the suspension having come into effect from 30th June.
It was originally intended to be in place until the end of July, but was lifted on 14th July, as FSA was “satisfied that the deficiencies had been resolved”.
Media reports now state that a source from the Cleveland Meat Company claims that the suspension is the reason for the company going into administration.
Speaking to Gazette Live, they said: “The FSA came in and they found a lot of what they called ‘deficiencies’ around the slaughterhouse. It had nothing to do with food hygiene or cleanliness but there were deficiencies.
“They then imposed a suspension, meaning we couldn’t operate or even pack meat.
“We felt we rectified the deficiencies in four days. We then asked them to come back the next day, basically as soon as possible, they said they would return soon but didn’t.
“Within the time when we were suspended and their final visit we estimated to have lost around £1.8m in sales alone. Basically the financial burden is too much to come back from.”
Responding to the claims, FSA told Meat Management: “As part of our review work we found evidence of serious deficiencies at Cleveland Meat Company. They were given an opportunity to give us a guarantee that these would be resolved within a reasonable amount of time. However, they were unable to do so, so we withdrew approval from 30th June to 31st July while these deficiencies were addressed.
“Decisions to suspend operations are not taken lightly and are based on a robust approvals process. This suspension on Cleveland Meat Company was lifted early on 14 July 2017, following three visits in three weeks by FSA officials, as we were satisfied that the deficiencies had been resolved.
“Since the suspension has been lifted, however, Cleveland Meat Co has chosen not to reopen.”
Steven Ross and Allan Kelly of Newcastle-based RSM Restructuring Advisory have been appointed joint administrators.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
