Sausage firm sues council for £575k over food safety probe

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 30 Oct, 06:35 · Archive

Artisan sausage maker Porcus People Limited is suing Calderdale Council for £575,106 over a food safety investigation that forced a 10-day closure.

Porcus People Limited, run by Sarah-Jane Clegg and Nataliya Clegg, is demanding £575,106 in damages from Calderdale Council over a food safety investigation into its ham products. The Todmorden-based firm produces hand-made artisan sausages and charcuterie from free-range pigs, supplying farm shops, restaurants, hotels and upmarket supermarkets including Booths. According to high court filings, the investigation resulted in a 10-day closure of operations and restrictions on products that the firm describes as unjustified.

At the centre of the dispute is how the firm's air-dried ham was categorised during laboratory testing. Porcus claims the product was a Category 13 preserved item but was wrongly classified as Category 8 'ham – cooked sliced' under UK Health Security Agency ready-to-eat guidelines. This misclassification resulted in listeria being recorded at an unacceptable level. Listeria is a bacterium that poses the greatest risk to pregnant women, children, older people and those with weakened immune systems.

A 'critical friend' report commissioned from Peterborough City Council supported Porcus's position, concluding that had the product been categorised correctly, the listeria levels detected would have been 'satisfactory' and 'no enforcement action would have been required'. The firm describes the investigation as 'catastrophic' and 'fundamental' in its error.

Calderdale Council has rejected all liability, dismissing the claim as 'entirely misconceived'. The council argues it holds no common law duty of care to shield a business from financial loss when acting in the interest of public health. The case hinges on whether the council's investigation was properly conducted and whether the product classification error was a breach of duty justifying compensation.

How it is being reported

• Sausage makers sue Council for £575k over 'flawed' probe that forced 10-day closureSausage makers are suing Calderdale Council for more than half-a-million pounds over a ‘catastrophic’ food safety probe into their ham, high court filings obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service allege.Telegraph & Argus · 29 Oct, 09:40
• Artisan sausage firm which supplies Booths to sue council over 'catastrophic' investigationSausage makers are suing Calderdale Council for more than £500,000 over a ‘catastrophic’ food safety probe into their ham, high court filings have alleged.Yorkshire Post · 29 Oct, 08:29
• Claims 'flawed' investigation shut down Calderdale pork firm as council sued for £575kPorcus People Limited is demanding £575,106 in damages for what it claims was an 'egregious, flawed and unmerited' investigation that forced a 10-day closure of their Todmorden operation and imposed 'unjustified' restrictions on products — a claim Calderdale Council denies.Huddersfield Examiner · 28 Oct, 19:28

In this story: Porcus People Limited · Calderdale Council · Todmorden · Sarah-Jane Clegg · Nataliya Clegg · Booths · UK Health Security Agency · Peterborough City Council

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log