Marks & Spencer pulls chicken, turkey products from Hong Kong shelves over UK food scare

Food-safety worries in the city grew yesterday as Marks & Spencer removed chicken and turkey products from its shelves after they were found to be sourced from a UK company at the centre of a tainted-poultry scandal.

Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man said another company, Sang Yick Foods, had also imported meat from the British supplier - 2 Sisters Food Group - but most of the supply had not been distributed to retailers. The Centre for Food Safety would continue to check whether any other importers had bought meat from the British company, he said.

Two plants of the 2 Sisters group have been accused of handling chickens in an unhygienic manner, by putting birds that had fallen on to the floor back on the production line.

It was also reported that feathers, guts and offal were untreated for hours while production continued, ignoring biosecurity rules. This could cause the spread of , a bacterium that causes food poisoning.

Chicken from these plants were supplied to leading supermarkets in Britain, such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer.

Ko said Marks & Spencer in Hong Kong had imported poultry from 2 Sisters, but it was not from the two plants involved in the scandal.

A spokeswoman for the British retailer said the meat had been fully cooked before being imported into Hong Kong, so it posed "absolutely no risk" to consumers. She said it removed cooked chicken and turkey sandwiches from the stores as a precautionary measure.