Hilton hotels among firms affected by meat hygiene scare

Hilton hotels have been affected by a significant hygiene scare at one of the UK's biggest meat suppliers, ITV News has learned.

The firm confirmed that a "small number" of its hotels were forced to withdraw items supplied by Russell Hume.

Russell Hume is under investigation by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for allegedly breaching hygiene regulations.

Wetherspoons, Jamie's Italian, Tiger Tiger, Marston's Pubs and Butlins have also been forced to recall products.

In a statement on Thursday, a Hilton spokesperson said: "We can confirm that a small number of Hilton hotels in the UK were supplied by Russell Hume, and following advice from the FSA, the hotels acted immediately to dispose of all products supplied by the company.

"The safety and security of guests is our primary concern, and we uphold stringent food safety standards in all of our hotels."

On Friday, it also emerged that the Greene King pub chain said a small number of items on their menus were affected, but it has since switched supplier.

Television sales channel QVC announced that it had sold meat supplied by Russell Hume under its Green Seasons range.

They are now offering customers refunds going back six months and are advising customers to "not eat any products you still have".

Our Consumer Editor Chris Choi described the potential safety violations as "significant".

Russell Hume blamed "mislabelling" for the steak and gammon recall and insists there is no reason to believe the product is unsafe or that anyone has been made ill by any of the products.

In a statement released later on Wednesday, the company said the actions of the FSA had "come as a serious shock".