The High Court appointed an interim examiner to the company that operates the Iceland chain of retail stores in Ireland on 20 June.
The court heard that Metron Stores Ltd is insolvent and unable to pay estimated debts of €36 million as they fall due, RTÉ reported.
However, an independent Experts Report (IER) has stated that the company has a reasonable prospect of survival if certain steps, including the appointment of an examiner, are taken.
Mr Justice Michael Quinn appointed chartered accountant and insolvency expert, Joseph Walsh, as interim examiner to Metron Stores, which operates 26 Iceland stores in the Republic of Ireland and employs more than 344 people.
'Immediate Withdrawal'
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) recently served a notice to Metron Stores, which has traded as Iceland Ireland since February, for the 'immediate withdrawal' from its retail stores of all imported frozen food of animal origin which has been imported into Ireland since 3 March 2023'.
The FSAI also asked Metron Stores to issue a product recall, and advised consumers 'not to eat any imported frozen food of animal origin bought from Iceland Ireland' since 3 March.
This includes chicken, meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, and is due to 'a number of identified breaches of food legislation and an ongoing investigation', according to the FSAI.
'Full Support'
Following the issuing of the product withdrawal notice, Iceland Foods said it was offering its 'full support' to Metron Stores and also pledged to ensure that there would be 'no recurrence' of any such issues in the future.
Iceland Foods said that the FSAI had taken the action against Metron Stores 'because of concerns about inadequate evidence of traceability and incidents of non-compliance with import control legislation, including pre-notification and completion of entry declarations.'
It added that following the sale of the Irish business to Metron Stores, which was already operating a food importing business in Ireland, and had previous experience of importing Iceland products, it 'felt confident that the business was well equipped to ensure compliance with all appropriate legislation'.
'Announcement Does Not Affect Purchases'
The FSAI announcement does not affect purchases of Iceland products from the 35 Iceland and two The Food Warehouse stores in Northern Ireland, which remain under the ownership of Iceland Foods Ltd.
The company stated that, 'All Iceland Foods own label products are manufactured and managed to UK regulatory requirements from independently audited manufacturing sites (whether in the UK, the EU, or a Third Country) with full end-to-end food safety, product traceability and due diligence'.
Read More: Iceland Foods Pledges ‘Full Support’ To Metron Stores Following FSAI Product Withdrawal Notice
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