Shopkeeper was selling sausages and yoghurt up to 17 days past use-by date
SOME PRODUCTS WERE NOT LABELLED IN ENGLISH
A SHOPKEEPER has been ordered to pay almost £3,000 after he was found to be selling out-of-date food.
Nottingham City Council food safety officers discovered food for sale beyond its use-by date at the Iced Fire off-licence in Laurie Avenue, Forest Fields.
Use-by dates, unlike best before dates which indicate quality of the produce, show when fresh food stops being safe to consume.
When officers visited the premises in January, September and October last year, they discovered goods, including sausages and yoghurt, that were up to 17 days beyond their use-by dates.
Mohammad Sharif, 29, of Chadwick Road, Bobbers Mill, runs the business in Forest Fields.
He had previously been advised by officers that checks needed to be carried out to remove out-of-date stock and prevent unsafe food from being sold.
Officers also noted during their September visit that some food for sale was not labelled in English.
They issued an Improvement Notice requiring Mr Sharif to relabel all pre-packed food items with mandatory food information, such as storage and cooking instructions and allergen advice, in English by October 4, 2020.
But on October 5, 2020, six product lines were found which had no mandatory food information in English.
Food found at the shop was seized and taken to Nottingham Magistrates’ Court where condemnation orders were granted. Magistrates also ordered Mr Sharif to pay £2,986 in fines and legal costs.
They heard Mr Sharif was remorseful, had made full and frank admissions and had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, and that he no longer sold European food items. The court also heard that, on April 7, Mr Sharif had reviewed procedures so food was not displayed or sold past its use by date, involving two daily stock checks.
Nottingham City Council’s chief environmental health officer, Paul Dales, said: “Shopkeepers are putting the health and safety of their customers at risk if they display and sell food past its use-by date – it could lead to food poisoning which in the worst cases could be fatal. “It’s also important that customers can read and understand mandatory food information such as cooking, storage and allergen advice – if they can’t it could lead to serious health issues. This case shows that we will take appropriate action, up to and including prosecution, to protect the Nottingham public from this sort of risky practice.”
Mr Sharif declined the opportunity to comment when approached by the Post.