Horsham District Council has issued an immediate warning to local food businesses and residents after intelligence from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) identified poultry products supplied by Alpha Food Distributions Ltd as potentially unsafe. The council says the firm, based in Dudley, is not approved to cut or produce chicken and has failed to meet mandatory food hygiene and safety requirements.
Products withdrawn and fraudulently labelled
Council officers have instructed that all poultry products supplied by Alpha Food Distributions Ltd should be removed from sale without delay. Authorities say some items have been presented in either plastic modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) or plain white boxes. In addition, the affected products have been fitted with an oval identification mark — "GB 4514" — which actually belongs to another approved business unconnected to the alert.
"Protecting public health is our highest priority, and we take any potential food safety risk extremely seriously,"
said Councillor David Skipp, Horsham District Council's Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Waste. He added that the council is working with the FSA and local traders to identify and remove affected products from the supply chain quickly.
What businesses and consumers are being asked to do
The council has outlined clear steps for anyone who believes they may have obtained the suspect chicken. They are being told not to consume, sell or distribute the product and to contact the council's Environmental Health & Licensing team. Contact details provided are an email at environmentalhealth@horsham.gov.uk and a telephone number, 01403 215641.
- Withdraw any poultry supplied by Alpha Food Distributions Ltd immediately.
- Do not consume, sell or redistribute affected products.
- Contact Horsham District Council's Environmental Health & Licensing team for guidance.
Regulatory and market consequences
Food-business operators receiving products from third-party suppliers rely on approval marks and traceability to meet safety obligations and to protect customers. An unapproved processor in a supply chain can create immediate operational headaches for small retailers and food outlets: not only must suspect stock be withdrawn, it must be accounted for and disposed of safely, and premises may face follow-up inspections.
For businesses operating on thin margins—convenience stores, independent chicken shops and takeaways—unexpected stock losses and potential reputational damage can directly hit the bottom line and, by extension, wages and jobs. Removing and replacing product at short notice increases costs and can squeeze margins already under pressure from wage growth and rising food costs.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Supplier named | Alpha Food Distributions Ltd (Dudley) |
| Issue | Not approved to cut/produce chicken; hygiene and safety requirements not met |
| False marking | Oval identification mark GB 4514 used fraudulently |
| Packaging types reported | Plastic MAP or plain white boxes |
Wider vigilance and trust in supply chains
The incident underlines the reliance of many food outlets on complex supplier networks and official approval schemes to ensure product safety. When those systems are circumvented or misrepresented, it forces regulators and businesses to react rapidly to protect consumers. The council's environmental health team has said it will contact premises that may have received or sold the products to secure withdrawal and, where necessary, recall and safe disposal.
Beyond the immediate public-health risk, such events can undermine consumer confidence in ready-to-eat offerings and frozen or chilled poultry in retail. For operators, rebuilding trust may require additional checks, paperwork and potentially switching to alternate suppliers—steps that increase costs and could be passed on to customers through higher prices.
Horsham District Council has urged anyone with concerns or information about the products to get in touch via email at environmentalhealth@horsham.gov.uk or by phone on 01403 215641.
