An investigation by Derby City Council Trading Standards has resulted in a £250,000 fine against supermarket giant Asda for displaying food that was as much as six months past its use-by-date.
When Officers inspected the Asda store in the Derby suburb of Sinfin on 15 July 2021, they found 18 items on shelves that were past their use-by-dates – despite having issued warnings to the retailer on two previous occasions.
The subsequent investigation was led by Victoria Rose, Senior Trading Standards Officer at Derby City Council. She commented: “Customers should be able to rely on stores such as Asda to supply food that is safe to eat.
“It’s my role as a Senior Trading Standards Officer to help protect the public when this is not the case, especially when some of these foods were aimed at children and found to be on the shelves six months past their use-by date.”
At Derbyshire Magistrates Court on 16 October, District Judge Jonathan Taaffe found Asda Stores Ltd guilty of 11 offences relating to offering unsafe food for sale, contrary to regulation 19 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
Taaffe determined that Asda Stores Ltd did not provide a satisfactory defence, had failed to prove that it had implemented its system properly, and had failed to show that it had made improvements following previous warnings received from the Trading Standards team.
Asda Stores Ltd was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay costs of £74,117.69, plus a victim surcharge of £190.
Donna Dowse, Trading Standards Service Manager at Derby City Council, said: “This was not an easy case to bring before the courts, and as a service we faced many barriers put before us due to the nature of Primary Authority Partnerships when trying to take enforcement action.
“The Primary Authority blocked our enforcement action in this case. As such, Victoria Rose had to take the matter first to the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and then to the Secretary of State before we could look at a prosecution. If it wasn’t for this commitment to keeping the public safe, then Asda would not have been held accountable for their failings as they have been today.”
Councillor Shiraz Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing and Regulatory Services at Derby City Council, said: “A fine of this scale reflects the seriousness of the situation and the risk it posed to the people of Derby.
“We are lucky that we have a Trading Standards team who are committed to keeping our city safe, and I am incredibly proud of the work that they continue to do. This case serves as a reminder that we are prepared to take whatever action necessary against businesses that break the rules, no matter how big or small.”
Use-by dates are applied to highly perishable food items by the manufacturer and are crucial to ensuring customers are buying and consuming safe items. According to the Food Standards Agency, these dates are the most important to remember for food products, and shoppers are advised never to eat food beyond the use-by date.
