A Pakistani butcher in Auckland has been forced to throw away lamb carcasses he was storing in a shopping trolley after photos posted on social media sparked outrage.
The pictures were posted in a local Facebook group last week, and Hasan Zuberi, the owner of newly opened Shefco Meats in Flat Bush, initially responded by claiming the meat was stored in “clean trolleys and boxes” while a rail was being installed, but later deleted the comment.
The store was then investigated by Auckland Council and the owner was told to dispose of all of the meat that was exposed to contamination in the photo.
Mr Zuberi then hit out at the uproar on social media, saying the photo was misleading and that he had only kept the carcasses in the trolley for 15 minutes on opening day, while other meat was put on cardboard on pallets in the coolroom.
He also accused commenters of targeting him for his race and religion, saying “it’s not in my control, these people are jealous”.
“They do these kind of things. You come to my store, neat and clean, nothing is wrong,” he told Stuff.
“ The way that the people do it on social media, you know, they destroy my business. They destroy my hard work.”
Auckland Council’s environmental health response team leader Alan Ahmu confirmed that the business was visited by a compliance officer on Thursday and a direction given to bin the meat.
“This directive was complied with while the council’s officer was on site,” Mr Ahmu said.
“The chiller storage temperature was found to be compliant. This is a new business which is not currently open and is yet to start trading. Once it commences trading, its food control plan will be verified by the council.”
According to the Food Act 2014 and Food Regulations Act 2015 any food at the premises of a food business is considered to be for commercial use, and businesses are required to ensure it is safe for consumption and that health and safety regulations are met.
Header image: Left, the meat in the trolley. Right, the butcher shop (supplied).
