Poultry slaughterhouse 'stomach-churning'

An Auckland woman whose company slaughtered thousands of chickens in "stomach-turning conditions" has been fined more than $23,000, after it supplied about 57,000 birds to restaurants and butchers.

Ling Zhang and her company Ling Ling Poultry pleaded guilty in Papakura District Court last week to four charges under the Animal Products Act, in a case brought by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA).

Judge Eddie Paul fined Zhang $20,000 for selling animal product that had not been processed in line with the Act and $3000 for not having a registered risk management programme.

"Anyone viewing that barn in the manner in which those chickens were slaughtered, their stomach would turn," Judge Paul said.

He convicted and discharged the company as it was no longer trading.

The court heard that on October 12, 2007, an NZFSA animal products officer found four people slaughtering poultry for the company in a barn in Ardmore.

The barn had no electricity, running water, refrigeration or sanitation.

The premises had no registered risk management programme, under which primary processors of animal material must operate.

Operations were ordered to stop and 100kg of dead birds were condemned and disposed of.

Inquiries found that in the previous year Ling Ling Poultry bought about 57,000 live birds, which were processed and sold to restaurants and butchers in the Auckland area.

NZFSA assistant director of compliance and investigation Justin Rowlands said the court ruling was an excellent outcome.

"This company had woefully poor hygiene and completely ignored regulations, which put consumers directly at risk."

Poultry was a primary source of campylobacter, New Zealand's leading foodborne illness, and risk management programmes reduced the chances of harmful bacteria being present, he said.

- NZPA