Freezer failure leads to £40k meat disposal

The Isle of Man Meat Plant is run at arm's length from the government

Up to £40,000 worth of Manx meat had to be thrown away last month after a freezer failed at the meat plant.

Isle of Man Meats said the dumping followed the failure of an “older piece of equipment” in the week leading up to the weekend of 22 July.

Items disposed of included unsold stock frozen to avoid waste and red meat offal which was put aside to sell to the pet food industry.

In a statement the organisation said the temperature, which must be maintained at -12C (10F) for both human consumption and pet food use, had fallen to -5C (23F).

'Protect human health'

It was revealed in April that more than 1.8 tonnes of meat had been thrown away due to “errors in stock management, some stock reaching past its shelf life, and some return stock”.

That followed the recall and disposal of some beef products in January after a faulty packaging machine caused production delays.

The latest statement said the freezer had failed “despite recent servicing of the freezer within the factory, and regular temperature compliance checks in place”.

It added: “Whilst waste occurs at each point in the chain across the food industry it is something that we strive to prevent, however legislation is in place to protect human health, and must take priority."

The stock value was less than £40,000 of potential sales, and represented about 0.4% of the annual volume sold, it added.

Isle of Man Meats is owned by the government but run at arm's length, receiving about £2m in subvention each year.