Butcher whose meat killed a child 'sold rotten food for years'

A SOUTH Wales butcher at the centre of a fatal E.coli outbreak which claimed the life of a five-year-old boy sold rotten meat for years before the tragedy, an inquest heard yesterday.

Mason Jones, of Deri, near Bargoed, lost his life to the deadly food poisoning bug, which affected more than 150 children and adults in the South Wales valleys in September 2005.

John Tudor and Son, based at Bridgend Industrial Estate, supplied meat to dozens of schools and residential homes.

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Owner William John Tudor, 58, of Cowbridge, was jailed for one year at Cardiff Crown Court in September 2007 having admitted six counts of placing unsafe food on the market and one of failing to protect food against the risk of contamination.

The inquest yesterday heard he habitually lied about his practices and falsified records.

Detective Superintendent Paul Burke, who had headed the criminal inquiry, told the hearing that staff revealed to him that if meat had become discoloured or foul-smelling it would be minced up for faggots. "The idea being that because faggots were spicy they would hide the taste of the meat".

He told the hearing "mutton was literally passed off as lamb", with frozen New Zealand meat given false batch numbers linking it to a legitimate farm in Abergavenny.

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The inquest also heard from Mason's mother, Sharon Mills, who sobbed as she described how her son appeared almost normal before dying of kidney failure.

Ms Mills said: "It completely destroyed Mason's organs, it completely killed him inside.

"I did not know at the time because he looked normal on the outside."

The inquest continues.