A new butcher in Auckland, New Zealand, has had to discard several lamb carcasses after a food safety officer deemed their temporary storage potentially unsafe, following a photo that went viral on social media.
The image, shared in the Otara 274 Facebook community group, showed carcasses in cardboard boxes stacked on a supermarket trolley amid wooden pallets at Shefco Meats on Dawson Rd in Flat Bush.
The post drew widespread criticism, with one commenter writing, “A-grade yeah nah.”
Shefco Meats’ manager, Hasan Zuberi, told Stuff.co.nz that the photo was misleading. The lamb had only been on the trolley for 15 minutes during the store’s opening day while a meat rail was being installed. “Absolutely nothing was placed on the floor,” Zuberi told Stuff.
“We take hygiene and food safety very seriously and are proud of the standards we uphold.”
Auckland Council confirmed that while no complaints had been received, the temporary storage of the meat appeared improper.
Council’s environmental health response team leader, Alan Ahmu, told Stuff.co.nz that a food safety officer visited the site and directed that all meat exposed to contamination in the photo be thrown out. The instruction was complied with on the spot. “The chiller storage temperature was compliant, and the hanging rail had been installed,” Ahmu said.
“This is a new business yet to start trading, and once it opens, its food control plan will be verified by the council.”
Zuberi added the social media reaction had been overwhelming. “People are jealous… They destroy my hard work,” he said, adding that some comments attacked his ethnicity and religion.
“I was crying in the morning with my wife. We’ve worked very hard to get this business running.”
New Zealand’s Food Act 2014 and Food Regulations Act 2015 require all food on the premises of a food business to meet strict health and safety standards.
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