The first time I bought Shazans curry cut chicken from Asda, it had a rotten smell. I ended up discarding it to avoid the hassle of returning it. I assumed it was just a bad batch and gave them another chance, but the same thing happened again—the chicken smelled off. That’s when I decided I would never buy their products again.

Fast forward almost four years, and the Tesco Extra near me in Woolwich switched their in-store halal counter vendor to Shazans. I used to buy meat regularly from the previous vendor without any complaints. Unaware of my past experience with Shazans, my wife picked up a pack of diced lamb, and as soon as she opened it at home, the stench was so bad it made her feel nauseous.

I took the pack back to Tesco, and even the customer service staff couldn’t bear the smell once it was opened. I did get a refund, but it makes me wonder how Shazans is still in business in the UK with such poor quality. Are the food safety authorities even doing their job properly?