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Tony's Butcher in Catford Broadway

PICTURED: Tony's Butchers in Catford Broadway

EXCLUSIVE BY:

Matthew Dresch

Damning report finds cat in butcher shop and meat being refrozen

A DAMNING food hygiene report has found a butcher shop was refreezing its unsold meat at the end of the day – and had a cat on the premises.

However, the owner of Tony’s Butchers, in Catford Broadway, fiercely disputed the report, denying his staff refroze defrosted meat.

He also claimed he had brought the cat to the shop that day because there was no one at home to feed her – and took her home in the evening.

A Lewisham Council inspector gave the butcher shop a one out of five hygiene rating after the visit. 

The inspector wrote: “During the inspection, your staff mentioned that food/meat (frozen) which are not sold on the day are returned to freezer. 

“Please note that the meat on display would have defrosted and should not be returned to the freezer once defrosted to avoid contamination of food.”

It is understood the inspector also found a cat in a crate in the staff area of the shop.


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The inspector wrote: “You are not allowed to have cat(s) in the food premises as they pose a risk of contamination to food handled.” 

The cat has been removed after a visit from an animal welfare officer, we understand.

The report noted that there was no sanitiser or antibacterial for disinfecting surfaces in the shop at the time of the inspection.

The hygiene inspector also claimed that repacked food products had no labels on them so it was unclear what the bags contained or when they were bagged.

They additionally reported finding dirty surfaces in the shop, cardboard flooring in the walk-in fridge and cardboard partitions in the freezers – and no food management system procedure in place at the time of the visit.

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And they said that parts of the ceiling, flooring and tiles in the shop were broken and needed to be repaired. 

Asif Latif, the owner of Tony’s Butchers, said: “The cat belongs to me and is registered to my home address the only reason that cat was there at the time was because there was no one at home and she was taken to work where she was kept in a cage so that I could feed her through the day and then brought home in the evening.

“The part where they said we refreeze meat is also wrong because our display units are all refrigerated and go all the way to -18 so firstly the frozen goods section is kept frozen.

“They spoke to a member of staff at that time who has informed me that when he was asked what they do with the meat in the evening he told them the frozen stuff go in the freezer and the fresh stuff goes in the chiller. He at no point said that we refreeze defrosted meat.

“There has been a follow up visit which will tell you that the issues have all been rectified. The only thing that needs to be done is fix a couple of joints in the lino that have come out due to the footfall.”

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