Out-of-date food in city stores costsTesco £7.5m
Supermarket giant argued mouldy grapes were ‘safe to eat’
THESE are the mouldy grapes that Tesco tried to argue were ‘safe’ for Birmingham customers to eat.
The bizarre claim was made by a food expert on behalf of the supermarket as it tried to ‘avoid prosecution’ for selling dozens of out of date products in three stores in the city.
But the argument was dismantled by a judge who branded the grapes ‘disgusting’ before fining Tesco £7.5 million for committing more than 20 offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations.
Birmingham City Council, which had accused the firm of ‘playing Russian roulette’ with the health of customers, released a photograph of the pot of grapes.
They said the huge fine should act as a warning to others about displaying out of date food.
Mark Croxford, head of environmental health at the council, said: “Supermarkets have a duty of care to ensure the food and drink they display for sale are in date and therefore safe to consume – however, visits by our officers and the public complaints show this is not always the case.
“The purpose of the use-by date is to protect the health of the consumer. The manufacturers put the date on their products to guarantee the food is safe and ignoring this date completely undermines consumer safety. There were numerous missed opportunities to check the dates on these products and remove them from display - and the fact incidents were found on several occasions, in different stores and over 14 months, was a major concern.
“This case offers a warning to all retailers to ensure their stock is in date and that if found to be breaching these regulations we will take action – as we have successfully done against one of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains.”
Inspectors found 67 items which were past their ‘use by’ date at the three stories. The Express outlet at Linden Road, Bournville, had the most with 29, when officers visited on April 12, 2016.
A further 25 expired products were discovered at the former Metro supermarket in Rubery, on June 1, 2017. The store has since been converted into one of Tesco’s Jack’s discount outlets.
The following day inspectors recovered 13 more items, including the pot of grapes, from the city centre Express shop on Carrs Lane.
Tesco’s food expert had argued the items were actually safe to consume, with their lawyers stating the use by date served a ‘brand and quality’ purpose instead.
District Judge Shamim Qureshi, passing sentence at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Monday, disagreed with the claim.
He said: “He (the expert) checked the bacteria and thought the levels were fine and rendered the food safe to eat. He would be happy to eat them. He even compared the cottonlike mould on grapes to the mould in blue cheese.
“He is completely at odds with the feeling of disgust that any ordinary member of the public would have on seeing the mould on grapes. If I am wrong about that, then perhaps someone might pioneer a new market for mouldy grapes.”
The judge described the expert’s view as ‘cavalier’ and accused Tesco of trying to ‘undermine the food regulatory system’ by relying on the opinion.
He added: “They could have discarded his opinions and simply come to court to face the music by apologising and taking responsibility. The public will not be left with any confidence that Tesco takes the legislation seriously.”
Tesco pleaded guilty to all offences, which Judge Qureshi described as the most ‘reluctant guilty plea in legal history’. The firm stressed that the incidents were ‘isolated’ and denied there was a ‘systematic’ problem in its shops.
This case offers a warning to all retailers found to be breaching these regulations that we will take action. Mark Croxford