THE boss of a Gwendraeth Valley abattoir has hit out at claims his meat is contaminated by the potentially lethal E. coli bacteria.

Cig Calon Cymru, based at Cross Hands, was featured in a BBC Wales investigation for Week In Week Out regarding meat hygiene.

The investigation found that a number of checked carcasses at the abattoir were contaminated with faeces, which could contain E. coli and can cause a deadly food poisoning bug.

Owner of Cig Calon Cymru, Enzo Sauro, said in a statement that regulations by the Meat Hygiene Service are always adhered to.

“Our plant at Cross Hands slaughters approximately 450 local cattle and between 600 and 700 lambs a week.

“During the time we have been in operation (since August 2005) we have consistently had a clean bill of health from all our regulators and met all the stringent hygiene regulations. There has not been one single complaint from any of our regulators or customers during that time.”

Cig Calon Cymru, which supplies Carmarthenshire County Council, Marks and Spencer, and Somerfield, was featured in the BBC Wales programme last Thursday (October 23) along with two other abattoirs.

In all three cases a journalist posed as a trainee vet and secretly filmed while they observed the slaughter process alongside a Meat Hygiene Service vet.

“At no time did the Official Vet indicate that there were any breaches taking place at the Cig Calon Cymru abattoir,” stated Mr Sauro. “Rather, he alerted the journalist to the ways in which less reputable slaughterhouses might ‘cut corners.’ “We are confident that at all times – including when the journalist was conducting her undercover filming – best practice was adhered to.”