The company produces a range of cooked, fresh and frozen British turkey, including products such as oven-ready whole birds, joints, cooked re-formed meats, and meal accompaniments, which accounts for over 90% of the business. But we are still really worried about possible spread. 'Sorry, I don't know about this,' said an official. He died on 25 November 2010, aged 80. If I don't buy these Bernard Matthews products and other people don't buy it, hopefully they'll have to upgrade the food to a better standard. Archived. [16] The company also unveiled a plan to reposition the company comprising three key elements: refocusing on British Turkey farming and production, making products that claim to better meet the needs of consumers today, and championing British agriculture. [6][7] In 1971, the company was publicly listed. [2][8] Both Matthews and his wife lived in the grounds of Great Witchingham Hall, and had a villa in St Tropez. The company breeds and rears both indoor and free range turkeys on its farms, and is an integrated agricultural business. 14%. Last Thursday, The Observer revealed on its website that government officials had actually known for some days that the outbreak of the H5N1 virus, which led to the gassing of 160,000 turkeys in Suffolk, might have been caused by a shipment of meat brought over from Bernard Matthews' Saga Food plant in Hungary to the company's plant in Holton, Suffolk.

But as long as it is processed in Britain, it can bear a British hallmark. [20], The business was bought out by turnaround experts, Rutland Partners in September 2013. New products under the Farms brand introduced in 2009 included several new seasonings, and an apricot and date stuffing.[27]. [6] He was later appointed a CVO in the 2006 New Year Honours List, for his service with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a scheme for which he had also previously been appointed a CBE.

It now transpires that some 290 tonnes of turkey breast has gone from Kecskemet into Britain in the past year. 20 comments.

Usage: 2-3 Servings Origin: Bernard Matthews has insisted that its food is completely safe and there is no risk of catching flu, but researchers say the food brand has already been badly damaged by the outbreak. It emerged in a highly critical report from Defra that there was a series of biosecurity failings at the Holton plant, some of which had been drawn to the company's attention in the past. Last night, he was under enormous pressure to make a statement explaining when he or other ministers were told about the consignment, and whether it was not time to take action banning imports of poultry products from infected countries. [43], Consequences of the outbreak included bans by a number of countries on the importation of poultry from Britain, a sharp fall in sales of Bernard Matthews products resulting in workers being laid off and a collapse in confidence in the brand. [citation needed] Jeff Halliwell has been Managing Director of Bernard Matthews Limited since June 2009. I like to think my heart is still in rehab due to these. First published on Sun 11 Feb 2007 14.02 GMT, Passing by the chiller cabinets at a Sainsbury's in north London, Sandra Tribelli gave a withering look when asked if she would be buying Bernard Matthews turkey escalopes - a bargain at three for only £1.99. And with that, she went off to buy a free-range chicken. 23. Opened a pack of bernard Matthews Turkey steaks.

For reasons that still remain unclear, no one in the government made this information public even though it had been known to officials in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since Monday. For best before end date see front of pack. 11%. Bernard Matthews 8 Original Tangy Tomato Turkey Twizzlers 440g (74 customer reviews) £3.00.

Under the "Golden Norfolk Turkey" brand, Bernard Matthews Farms provides a frozen turkey range including whole birds in a variety of sizes, plus crowns and joints, basted and stuffed.

'My worry is that it might have got into the wild bird population, so the concern is that we have gone from poultry to wild bird, and we need to keep a very close eye on that,' he said. [36], On 7 September 2006, two contract workers were convicted of animal cruelty after being covertly filmed by a member of staff from Hillside Animal Sanctuary, playing 'baseball' with live turkeys.

Saturates 2.1g. [26], Bernard Matthews Oldenburg is based in the north of Germany and employs around 130 staff. As a result of this, he failed his exams. [1] It has 56 turkey farms and two production sites located in Norfolk and Suffolk. Bernard Matthews Limited is Assured Food Standards (Red Tractor) accredited[25] and its production sites have ISO 14001 accreditation. Bernard Matthews 15 Turkey Mini Kievs 340g (35 customer reviews) £2.00. View Offer. [3][4], In 1955, its headquarters were moved to its present location, Great Witchingham Hall near Norwich. He feels he is really taking the rap for something that wasn't his fault. The company is still denying there was any possibility its plant in Sarvar could have been infected, but it is still not saying much about the scale of its operations.

[24], Bernard Matthews has three main operating companies: the United Kingdom-based Bernard Matthews Limited, the Germany-based Bernard Matthews Oldenburg, and the Hungary-based SáGa Foods.

But there is the possibility that tiny amounts of the virus would still exist in it. Founded by Bernard Matthews in 1950, it has 56 farms throughout Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire farming nearly 7 million turkeys each year. This is how the virus could have travelled, relatively swiftly, from the plant into the adjacent turkey sheds. of the reference intake * … © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Bernard Matthews new products", "Banned in Scotland but good enough for English children", "Will small schools go back to the Turkey Twizzler? A range of precautions were instituted including a large cull of turkeys, the imposition of segregation zones, and a disinfection programme for the plant. The headmaster refused to let Matthews' exam failure reduce the school's pass-rate and so Bernard Matthews left school with no qualifications. YouGov's BrandIndex, which monitors consumer attitudes to 1,100 brands every day, revealed last night that the company is now the second worst liked brand in Britain, behind only McDonald's. Professor John Oxford, the country's leading bird flu expert, pointed out last night that raw meat does carry a slight risk if not properly handled.

[8][9][10], In 1980, they launched their first TV commercial featuring Turkey Breast Roast, with Matthews himself introducing the famous 'Bootiful' catchphrase in his thick Norfolk accent.