The meat and poultry supplier has called in administrators and blamed the Food Standards Agency (FSA) after customers deserted the business after it was revealed inspectors found “serious concerns about non-compliance with food hygiene regulations”.
Headquartered in Derby and operating from six production sites in Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Boroughbridge, Exeter and Fife, the company supplied meat to a number of hotels, restaurants and pubs across the UK. It employed a total of 302 people.
Last month, production across the company’s sites ceased and products were recalled after an investigation was launched by the FSA into allegations of non-compliance with food hygiene regulations.
Chris Pole, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, commented: “The recent product recall and halt in operations has caused significant customer attrition and trading difficulties, which in turn has led the directors to take the decision to place the company into administration.
“Regrettably, with little prospect of production restarting on site, a total of 266 people have been made redundant. Our priority over the coming days will be to work with all affected employees to provide the assistance they need in claiming monies owed from the Redundancy Payments Office.
“We will also be seeking buyers for the business and its assets. Any interested parties are advised to contact us as soon as possible.”
The directors of Russell Hume said in a statement the manner in which the FSA handled the problems contributed to the decision to close the business. “Unfortunately, the FSA’s action created impossible trading conditions for us, and after careful reflection we have decided the best thing for the company and its creditors is to put Russell Hume into administration.”
