A whistle-blower who worked for the Department of Agriculture feels he was effectively silenced after he made allegations that a factory was excessively trimming beef carcases and shaving off money farmers received in their cheques.
The man was assigned to the Beef Carcase Classification (BCC) unit where he said he raised concerns verbally with his manager, which he then followed up in an email seen by the Irish Farmers Journal.
It states: “The carcase trim on display was never acceptable, it was too harsh, too much neck meat and brisket over-trimmed.
“I raised my concerns with you and asked you to record the numbers of these incorrectly classified carcases, again you refused, stated it was ‘not that simple’.”
Soon after the whistle-blower raised his concerns, he was suspended by the Department on unrelated disciplinary action. The disciplinary action was dismissed.
The whistle-blower continued to pursue the issue of the trim but in a letter to the whistle-blower this year seen by this newspaper, the Department states it considers “the case closed”.
I’d over 20 years of unblemished service with the Department
He feels his concerns over excess trim were effectively ignored by the Department.
“I’d over 20 years of unblemished service with the Department without any hassle before this,” he said.
“I had experience from working in BCC for a number of years. When I was reassigned to the area, I felt €12 to €20 was being trimmed excessively off each carcase. The farmer wasn’t getting paid for it but the factories sell everything from the animal.”
There are currently just seven BCC officers and they reported 21 excess trim cases last year – 0.05% of all carcases inspected. Bar 2016, there were no reported cases in any of the years previous, including 2011, the year the whistle-blower reported his concerns.
“In my opinion, if you enforce the rules, you’re penalised,” the whistle-blower said. “The minister should punish factories by withdrawing their carcase classification licence.”
Department statement
The Department confirmed that in 2011, a staff member used their internal reporting system to raise what they called "perceived concerns about carcass-trim issues."
They stated: "The assertions were examined thoroughly and found to have no basis. The matter was then closed."
Read more
Industry insight: finding a better way to deal with factory trim
Daily monitoring of carcase trim from November
Faulty scales in a number of factories and marts
A whistle-blower who worked for the Department of Agriculture feels he was effectively silenced after he made allegations that a factory was excessively trimming beef carcases and shaving off money farmers received in their cheques.
The man was assigned to the Beef Carcase Classification (BCC) unit where he said he raised concerns verbally with his manager, which he then followed up in an email seen by the Irish Farmers Journal.
It states: “The carcase trim on display was never acceptable, it was too harsh, too much neck meat and brisket over-trimmed.
“I raised my concerns with you and asked you to record the numbers of these incorrectly classified carcases, again you refused, stated it was ‘not that simple’.”
Soon after the whistle-blower raised his concerns, he was suspended by the Department on unrelated disciplinary action. The disciplinary action was dismissed.
The whistle-blower continued to pursue the issue of the trim but in a letter to the whistle-blower this year seen by this newspaper, the Department states it considers “the case closed”.
I’d over 20 years of unblemished service with the Department
He feels his concerns over excess trim were effectively ignored by the Department.
“I’d over 20 years of unblemished service with the Department without any hassle before this,” he said.
“I had experience from working in BCC for a number of years. When I was reassigned to the area, I felt €12 to €20 was being trimmed excessively off each carcase. The farmer wasn’t getting paid for it but the factories sell everything from the animal.”
There are currently just seven BCC officers and they reported 21 excess trim cases last year – 0.05% of all carcases inspected. Bar 2016, there were no reported cases in any of the years previous, including 2011, the year the whistle-blower reported his concerns.
“In my opinion, if you enforce the rules, you’re penalised,” the whistle-blower said. “The minister should punish factories by withdrawing their carcase classification licence.”
Department statement
The Department confirmed that in 2011, a staff member used their internal reporting system to raise what they called "perceived concerns about carcass-trim issues."
They stated: "The assertions were examined thoroughly and found to have no basis. The matter was then closed."
Read more
Industry insight: finding a better way to deal with factory trim
Daily monitoring of carcase trim from November
Faulty scales in a number of factories and marts
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