Information about recorded incidents of harassment, bullying, obstruction, violence, intimidation, criminal damage reported by FSS or contracted staff between 1st January 2019 and the present date

Your request was about the following information:

Q1. The number of recorded incidents of harassment, bullying, obstruction, violence, intimidation, criminal damage* (however recorded by FSS) reported by FSS or contracted staff, eg OV or MHI, working at slaughterhouses / meat processing plants in Scotland between January 1st 2019 and the present date. 

*Criminal damage to FSS staff property. 

Q2. The names / locations of the meat plants in question & details of each incident as held, including year, what action was taken (if held) and the consequences that followed e.g. verbal advice, written warning, legal proceedings. 

I note such information has previously been released by other agencies via FOI (notably FSA FOI ref 2323 issued in Dec 2018)

A1. There have been repeated instances of obstruction involving one cutting plant business between 2020 and 2024, and another instance involving a separate cutting plant in 2024. Additionally, there have been repeat incidents involving four slaughterhouse business operators and/or their staff or third parties working in the same environment. These have taken place over a period of a few years, with the most recent occurring in 2025. 

A2. Food Standards Scotland will not be releasing plant names, locations, or detailed incident descriptions. Given the low number of cases, doing so could inadvertently identify specific businesses or individuals and pose significant risk, including risk to ongoing working relationships. 

The reasoning for not providing the information are as follows: 

- It could prejudice commercial interests (FOISA Section 33(1)(b)). 

- It would breach confidentiality (Section 36) and data protection (Section 38). 

- It could re-open sensitive issues that have been resolved, which could undermine staff safety and the positive relationships that have been worked hard to rebuild.