Listeria sandwich company was warned two years ago for breaking the rules

The sandwich supplier at the center of the Listeria outbreak has been warned for violation of the rules of recording the temperature of goods – an essential measure to prevent the spread of bacteria.

An inspection of The Good Food Chain in 2017 revealed that the temperatures of some delivery records had been filled in advance instead of being left blank for staff to complete them after shipping. some orders.

The good food chain said the problem was solved immediately.

His premises had not been inspected for 11 months when his sandwiches were identified as being the source of a deadly outbreak that killed five hospitalized patients.

The company said last night that the breach involved preprinted temperatures on product labels kept at room temperature, such as canned goods or dried foods, and did not include ingredients that required cooling.

But a leading food expert said this undermines measures taken to prevent the spread of infections.

Professor Tim Lang of the City Center for Food Policy, University of London, said: "If temperatures were already preprinted in forms, it would completely destroy the very purpose of these forms, namely to record the truth. and identify risks.

"It makes fun of good risk management. If this is allowed for filling in the form, it could also indicate that there are more serious failures elsewhere. "

The inspection, conducted by the Stafford Borough Council in June 2017, revealed that pre-filled forms needed to be removed immediately. He also found another breach at The Good Food Chain, based in Stone, Staffordshire, which had to be tackled immediately.

His report said: "The blade of a sturdy can opener was dirty, which would cause contamination … in the next open box."

In addition, he criticized the "dirty" state of the staff microwave, a possible source of infection.

Despite these concerns, the company – founded by 50-year-old car enthusiast Martyn Corfield – received the highest score of five out of five.

Stafford Borough Council said the situation was verified last June, when the issues were resolved.

It was not inspected again until May 22, after the start of the investigation into the listeria outbreak. Subsequently, he voluntarily stopped his production.

A spokesman for the board said: "As long as the company can not convince us, as well as the Food Standards Agency, that there is no risk to public health, the production of the product is the same. business will not resume. "

The good food chain stated: "A staff member who extracted the order form provided it in advance on the delivery forms.

"If a temperature box had been ticked in advance, it was to indicate that the delivery concerned environmental goods. This is corroborated by the fact that there was clearly no safety concern, as the inspectors gave a five-star rating to this inspection. "

The company spokesman said that at no time did the practice apply to refrigerated products. The meat used in the contaminated sandwiches was delivered to The Good Food Chain by North Country Cooked Meats, which also voluntarily closed while investigations were continuing.

It was last inspected by Salford City Council in February and pbaded all health and safety checks.

Yesterday, the Sunday Mirror explained how the survey of North Country cooked meats was conducted on listeria in 2009 and 2010.

A spokesman for the Salford Council said: "We detected listeria in 2009 and 2010 and the company acted quickly to deal with it."

North Country Cooked Meats declined to comment last night.

All those who died in the current outbreak of listeriosis have eaten pre-packaged chicken salad sandwiches from The Good Food Chain. It has provided 43 NHS trusts, but its products have since been withdrawn.

Two of the deceased patients were at the Royal Manchester Infirmary and one at Liverpool Aintree Hospital.

Public Health England announced two more deaths on Friday. Health Secretary Matt Hanbad has ordered a "thorough review" of hospital foods.