Butchers from Tanygroes “placed consumers in a potentially dangerous situation” by using the same vacuum packing machine to pack raw and cooked meats, with the same process linked to the South Wales e-coli outbreak in 2005.

As reported in the Cambrian News, Eifion Wyn Thomas, 34, and 63-year-old Sheena Thomas of Golwg y Môr, Wauntrefalau, were fined £5,000 each by Aberystwyth magistrates after they pleaded guilty to nine food hygiene offences.

During a routine food hygiene inspection by Ceredigion County Council at the ‘Golwg y Môr’ premises in September 2023, a Senior Environmental Health Officer discovered a vacuum packer labelled ‘cooked meat only’ being used to package raw meat.

The practice was immediately prohibited, however this was ignored and the practice continued, leading to potentially contaminated cooked meats being sold in Ceredigion and nearby areas.

The pair “obstructed the investigation by not fully cooperating with Ceredigion officers and falsified records in a deliberate attempt to hide the wrongdoings,” the court heard.

Magistrates heard that the use of a vacuum packing machine for raw and cooked meats was found to be a likely source for the contamination of cooked meats in the South Wales e-coli outbreak in 2005.

Aberystwyth Magistrates expressed their surprise at the defendants’ actions, stating that they had placed consumers in a potentially dangerous situation.

They noted that falsifying records to try and conceal the offences had only made a “bad situation worse.”

A Council spokesperson said: “In this case the council had to take immediate steps to remove the risk to public health, and was disappointed that the advice and action thereafter taken by the food business continued to put the public at risk.

“The Council does not take legal action lightly, and the action taken reflects the risk to the public.”