British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and his restaurants in the United Kingdom would have to withdraw its meaty dishes from the menu after meat products from supplier Russell Hume were suspended by British authority.
The company was ordered to recall all meat products from clients, while also preventing any new products from being released from the company's production site. This was after the Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducted a surprise visit to the company's premises located in Birmingham, West England.
"Following an unannounced inspection of Russell Hume's Birmingham site on 12 January, we became aware of instances of serious non-compliance with food hygiene regulations," The FSA said, as obtained by The Guardian.
Oliver's signature restaurants in Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, and many more will experience most of the consequences, especially since the menu makes use of a lot of meat. Jamie's Italian is probably Oliver's most famous restaurant worldwide. Using Oliver's expertise in Italian cuisine, which stems from his relationship with mentor Gennaro Contaldo, the restaurant has expanded in countries such as Australia, Netherlands, and Singapore.
To combat this, the restaurant immediately switched suppliers and publicly announced that they have removed all Russell Hume meat from their stock. "All Russell Hume meat was removed from restaurants as soon as we were notified on Monday. This was a day before the FSA asked for meat to be removed. We also switched suppliers," a spokesperson of Jamie's Italian said to Mirror Online.
Other restaurants that would be affected would be the J.D. Wetherspoons pub founded by Tim Martin, as well as Bourne Leisure and Haven and Warner Leisure Hotels. As for the famous Wetherspoons pub, the restaurant had difficulty in switching suppliers for rump, sirloin, and gammon steak in their menus.
FSA officials said that Russell Hume is a major supplier of meat to homes and care centers nationwide as well. While the meat was not necessarily toxic or life-threatening, FSA clarified that they made a massive recall due to mislabeling of meats, which can be taken as a precautionary measure.
