Turkey firm Bernard Matthews is under fire after an official report revealed a catalogue of failings at the plant hit by bird flu.
Inspectors saw gulls feeding on meat scraps left in uncovered waste bins and polythene bags used for meat products were left in open bins, according to an interim report by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Chris Huhne MP said the report highlighted "serious bio-security lapses" at the Bernard Matthews plant in Holton, Suffolk.
"Allowing wild birds to feed on raw poultry meat left in the open is highly irresponsible, as it could lead to widespread contagion," he said. "The impression is still of an organisation in denial about the seriousness of events at its plant."
Defra's interim report named imported turkey meat from Hungary as the "most plausible" cause of the H5N1 outbreak at Holton. It found "little evidence" that wild birds were the source of the infection, which led to a cull of 159,000 at the plant.
Defra's report lists a number of possible ways the virus could have entered a shed on the farm. An inspection carried out on February 6 this year showed small birds, rodents and rats could have got inside. Plastic-covered bales of wood shavings stored outside, water leaking in through a roof and contaminated footwear or clothing were other possible means of contamination.
Pest control reports carried out at the Bernard Matthew premises on two dates last month mentioned the ongoing problem of gulls on uncovered waste bins and gulls roosting on sheds.
In a second report, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said all food importing and processing activities carried out at the Holton site had complied with EU laws.
The FSA found no evidence of meat entering the UK food chain from restricted zones in Hungary. But it said Meat Hygiene Service records for the past year showed Bernard Matthews staff had been verbally warned about "deficiencies" a number of times. Each of the problems had been sorted out and no further enforcement action had been taken.
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Responding to the two reports, Bernard Matthews said they proved it had always acted within the law. The firm said its voluntary decision to halt the movement of meat to and from Hungary would remain in place "until further notice".
