Shop fined for selling out-of-date meat products

A shop in Southampton has been fined £5,500 by the court after it was found that the customers were sold out of date meat.

According to local reports, a Trading Standards investigation into the sale of unsafe food found that UK SP Star, on Victoria Road, Southampton, had 32 items past their use by date. 

The inspection revealed most of the 32 items were meat products – with one eight weeks past its use by date. The packaging of one meat product which was past its date had blown, indicating microbiological activity.

Food past use-by is deemed unsafe in law.

The business had been advised following a similar previous complaint to remove all such food from sale but had failed to follow the advice which included simple precautions such as daily rotation of stock.

UK SP Star director Sudhir Patel told investigators that he had not carried out checks on the items while each of his two staff thought the other had made the checks, when neither had done. The company was fined £4,000, with a further £250 towards costs and a victim surcharge of £190. Patil was fined £1,000, with a further £250 towards costs and a victim surcharge of £100.

Patil was prosecuted by Southampton City Council after a complaint by a member of the public.

“The sale of unsafe food is unacceptable, and puts consumers at risk of food poisoning. Precautions to prevent these offences would have been simple, involving the daily checking and removal of foods past their date,” reports quoted councillor Steven Galton, as saying.

“Hopefully this sends a strong message out to other food traders on the importance of ensuring such checks are undertaken.”