In the week leading up to its resumption, RH Woodward and Co had its licence suspended for not complying with prime safe lamb branding procedures, according to Brian Casey, PrimeSafe chief executive.

“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, made in a routine audit, showed the abattoir to be in breach of its licence agreements in regards to its prescribed lamb and two tooth brands.

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

As part of the ban imposed by PrimeSafe, RH Woodward had to remove its lamb brand from any carcases on their premises and revise their procedures before they were allowed to begin processing lamb again.

Mr Casey said that the abattoir will now be subject to inspection and audit by PrimeSafe on an increased basis to ensure their compliance with procedures.