This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/23/uk-abattoir-boss-peter-boddy-fined-horsemeat-charges

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Abattoir boss fined £8,000 over horsemeat charges Abattoir boss fined £8,000 over horsemeat charges
(35 minutes later)
A slaughterhouse boss has become the first person to be sentenced in connection with the horsemeat scandal that rocked British supermarkets in 2013.A slaughterhouse boss has become the first person to be sentenced in connection with the horsemeat scandal that rocked British supermarkets in 2013.
Peter Boddy, 65, was fined £8,000 after admitting one count of failing to abide by EU meat traceability regulations.Peter Boddy, 65, was fined £8,000 after admitting one count of failing to abide by EU meat traceability regulations.
Boddy, who runs an abattoir in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with food traceability regulations, which state the source of meat should be traceable from field to fork.Boddy, who runs an abattoir in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with food traceability regulations, which state the source of meat should be traceable from field to fork.
He sold 55 carcasses without keeping records of where they were going, 37 of which he claimed went to Italian restaurants.He sold 55 carcasses without keeping records of where they were going, 37 of which he claimed went to Italian restaurants.
A further 17 animals entered his business without documents showing where they had come from.A further 17 animals entered his business without documents showing where they had come from.
Boddy was sentenced at Southwark crown court in London alongside the slaughterhouse manager, David Moss, who was sentenced after admitting forging an invoice concerning the number of horses sold in a transaction on 12 February 2013.Boddy was sentenced at Southwark crown court in London alongside the slaughterhouse manager, David Moss, who was sentenced after admitting forging an invoice concerning the number of horses sold in a transaction on 12 February 2013.
Moss was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for two years.Moss was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for two years.
Sentencing them, the judge, Alistair McCreath, said: “The traceability of food products, here meat, is of critical importance in relation to public health. If meat causes ill health, then it is important that those responsible for investigating the cause of it should quickly be able to discover where the meat came from and trace it backwards and backwards and backwards to find where the problem lies and prevent the problem escalating.”Sentencing them, the judge, Alistair McCreath, said: “The traceability of food products, here meat, is of critical importance in relation to public health. If meat causes ill health, then it is important that those responsible for investigating the cause of it should quickly be able to discover where the meat came from and trace it backwards and backwards and backwards to find where the problem lies and prevent the problem escalating.”
Neither man showed any reaction as they were sentenced. McCreath said that it was important to recognise that the men were not being sentenced for being complicit in the supply of horsemeat into the human food chain. Neither man showed any reaction as they were sentenced. McCreath said it was important to recognise that the men were not being sentenced for being complicit in the supply of horsemeat into the human food chain.
He said: “It is impossible to avoid a suspicion, even a strong one, that behind the activities disclosed by this investigation was some degree of complicity, together with others – those who sold the live horses to the abattoir, and those who received the horse meat thereafter – in putting into the human food chain, under the guise of some other meat, what was in fact horse meat. He said: “It is impossible to avoid a suspicion, even a strong one, that behind the activities disclosed by this investigation was some degree of complicity, together with others – those who sold the live horses to the abattoir, and those who received the horsemeat thereafter – in putting into the human food chain, under the guise of some other meat, what was in fact horsemeat.
“And there are substantial grounds to justify that suspicion. But, and I make no criticism at all of the prosecution … because the prosecution for proper reasons take the view that whilst there might be that suspicion, it is insufficient to found a proper evidential basis for a finding of the kind that I have described.”“And there are substantial grounds to justify that suspicion. But, and I make no criticism at all of the prosecution … because the prosecution for proper reasons take the view that whilst there might be that suspicion, it is insufficient to found a proper evidential basis for a finding of the kind that I have described.”