Whistleblowers claim food depot is dirty

A distribution company has defended its cleanliness record after workers claimed its Spalding food storage depot is dirty and dangerous.

Fowler Welch said it is committed to high standards after a series of photos and video clips was given anonymously to The Voice, claiming to show dust, dirt and health and safety breaches at the company’s premises in West Marsh Road.
The pictures appear to show wet floors, scattered food boxes and even pork pies and raw meat scattered on the floor and on shelving, as well as rubbish and thick dust.
A note delivered with the photos said the building is used to store food from companies including Pork Farms, Bernard Matthews, Tulip and Marlow Foods ready for distribution to supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Aldi.
It said: “This food is kept in terrible conditions.
“There is a lot of dust everywhere which flies out from cooling fans.
“This dust is inhaled by employees and is on the food.
“The roof is full of holes and when it rains water drops on food and on the floor.
“Every day you can find food lying on the dirty floor because nobody cleans this place. Equipment we use is very old – every day we must break the health and safety rules.
“We have written about the conditions in the warehouse to top managers but still the situation is the same.
“We need help because this food is eaten by thousands of families every day.”
Fowler Welch chose not to comment on the images as they said there was nothing to indicate they were taken within its premises.
But a spokesman said: “We are committed to ensuring all our services and facilities are operated to the highest standard.
“Our Spalding depot, and all of our UK warehousing facilities, are independently accredited by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which deals with all aspects of retail, from manufacture to supply to sale and ensures that the product and service the customer receives is of the highest standard possible through an exhaustive audit process.
“What’s more, within the last two weeks, our Spalding site was independently audited by one of the UK’s leading retailers who raised no issues with regard to the standard of the site.”