Shop owners fined for selling out of date goods

City council environmental health officers inspected the business, Maxum Foods Limited at 43-49 Park Road, on 24 February 2016 when out of date foods were found to be for sale.

One of the business’s directors, Sarwar Mustafa, was instructed to remove the items from sale at the time of the visit and a formal written warning was issued.

However, during a follow up visit on 8 June 2016 a number of high risk foods such as cooked meats, yoghurts and mayonnaise-based products were found for sale up to several days past their use-by date. They were also found not to be refrigerated presenting a risk of food poisoning to consumers.

The foods were removed by the council’s environmental health officer at the time of the visit.

The business operators failed to attend court and magistrates found Maxum Foods Limited guilty of the offences in their absence. They were fined £2,800 for the offences and ordered to pay costs of £500 plus a victim surcharge of £140.

Councillor Irene Walsh, cabinet member for communities and environmental capital, said: “There is no excuse for disregarding basic food safety requirements and I’m pleased the court has found this to be the case.

“The business has shown no regard to the law and has put the health of their customers at risk.”