As a result of these revelations, 2 Sisters Food Group has reportedly done some internal investigation of its own.

The poultry firm yesterday (Sunday, 1 October) issued another press release, saying: "We are shocked and distressed by the allegations and the footage which we saw for the first time on Thursday, 28 September.

"We responded immediately by launching our own internal investigation at our West Bromwich plant and invited the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to independently review our standards.

"The FSA has been in daily attendance since the allegations were raised and confirmed that it has not identified any breaches."

However, 2SFG has admitted that its internal investigation did show some instances of non-compliance with its own management systems.

The company said: "We have therefore decided to temporarily suspend operations at the site to allow us the time to retrain all colleagues including management in all Food safety and Quality management systems.

"All colleagues will remain on full pay and will attend site whilst training is undertaken.

"We will only recommence supply once we are satisfied that our colleagues have been appropriately retrained.

"We continue to work closely with the FSA and our customers throughout this period.

"We remain committed to ensuring that we operate to the highest standards of hygiene and food safety, and we act with honesty and integrity at all times."