A HADLEIGH butcher is today facing the threat of prosecution after ten condemned pig carcasses weighing over 700kgs were seized from its town centre premises.

A HADLEIGH butcher is today facing the threat of prosecution after ten condemned pig carcasses weighing over 700kgs were seized from its town centre premises.

Officers from Babergh District Council's food and safety regulation team removed the meat on Friday after a call from a member of the public saying Mark and Anne-Marie Rothwell, of Pierpoint's, in Hadleigh High Street, had taken possession of the carcasses from a supplier other than a licensed abattoir.

At a hearing today Sudbury Magistrates' Court formally condemned the meat, which will now be incinerated.

Magistrates awarded legal costs of £1,000 against the supplier of the meat, farmer Michael Barrell, of Stowmarket. He was also ordered to pay incineration costs of £298.

Council officers will now decide whether to prosecute Pierpoint's and the supplier.

Emma Richbell, Babergh's senior food and safety officer, said: “It is a legal requirement that any meat for sale comes from livestock slaughtered in a licensed abattoir and is stamped accordingly.

“It is a serious offence to bypass these requirements as the lack of any formal traceability back to the supplier makes it very difficult to vouch for the healthiness of the meat.”

Meat slaughtered at an abattoir has a range of pre and post-mortem checks carried out by a vet as well as being accompanied by documentation detailing any medical treatment of the live animals.

John Rainer, food and safety regulation manager at Babergh, added: “We are constantly checking food outlets for this, and related issues, and always adopt a zero-tolerance approach where risks to public health are concerned.”