South Africa’s Supreme Poultry denies wrong-doing

South Africa-based Supreme Poultry has denied claims made by former employee Johan Wilhelm Matthee that the company illegally “re-works” its chicken products.

The company states that the claims of Matthee, whose services were recently terminated by Supreme on the grounds of sexual harassment, was malicious work of a disgruntled former employee.

In a press release the company stated, “Re-working at Supreme Poultry occurs on a limited scale, and is conducted in accordance with the protocols as dictated by the Department of Agriculture. The product may be used for specified purposes after re-working, including human consumption, animal consumption and rendering”.

Country Bird Holdings Limited, of which Supreme Poultry is a subsidiary states that they subscribe to a continuous improvement programme. The Group has an independent hotline with the audit firm KPMG, where both employees and consumers can report any malpractice or concern that in turn will be reported directly to the CBH Board of directors, bypassing operational management. There have been no complaints received from anyone regarding production practices using this channel.