Two weeks ago RH Woodward and Co had its licence suspended for not complying with PrimeSafe lamb branding procedures, Brian Casey, PrimeSafe chief executive, said.

“Corrective actions were imposed and they had to remove the lamb brand from any lamb on their premises and they were not permitted to process lamb until they’d met the specifications outlined by PrimeSafe,” Mr Casey said.

The discovery, which was made during a routine audit, and involved lamb and two tooth brands.

The licence requires quality assurance systems to be strictly adhered to and daily records relating to the purchase, receiving and processing of each class of sheep meat – lamb, two tooth and mutton.

As part of the ban, RH Woodward had to remove the LambSafe brand from carcasses on its premises and revise its procedures before being allowed to begin processing lamb under the brands again.

Mr Casey said that the abattoir would now be subject to inspection and audit on an increased basis to ensure it complied with procedures.