Food Past Its “Use by” Date Found on Shelves in Nuneaton Coop
The Heart of England Co-operative Society Ltd has been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling £5621 after Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards Officers discovered eight items that were passed their “use by” date, on sale at the Nuneaton Abbey Street store.
This included a yogurt that was 18 days past its “use by” date.
On three separate occasions over a five month period, Trading Standards Officers inspecting the store found food that was past its “use by” date still on the shelves.
These included a yoghurt that was 18 days past its “use by” date, pancakes that were 14 days past their “use by” dates and orange juice that was 12 days past its “use by” date.
“Use by” dates are affixed to foods that go off quickly, such as meat, most diary products and ready-prepared salads.
The Food Standards Agency advises consumers not to consume any food or drink after the end of the “use by” date on the label, even if it looks and smells fine, because it could put your health at risk.
Warwickshire County Councillor Richard Hobbs, Portfolio Holder for Community Protection said:
“Food retailers must ensure that not only do they have procedures in place to stop food past its use by date being made available for sale, but that these procedures are actually working. Warwickshire Trading Standards Officers will continue to carry out this important work to ensure that the public are protected.”
At Nuneaton Magistrates Court on 10th December 2007, Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards Service brought a successful prosecution against the Heart of England Co-operative Society Ltd for making available for sale, food past its “use by” date.
The defendant pleaded guilty to eight summonses brought under the Food Labelling Regulations 1996.
On three separate occasions over a period of five months, eight items were found available for sale past their “use by” date.
On the first occasion on 17th May, during a routine food inspection three items were found to be available for sale which were respectively 18 days, 14 days and two days past their “use by” date. On the follow up inspection on 7th August, four items were found to be past their "use by" date, three items one day over and one item ten days over. On the third occasion on 19th October, one item, a carton of orange juice, was found for sale 12 days past its "use by" date.
The Magistrates described the offences as serious and stated that the court was not considering one isolated offence but a series of offences on three occasions. In sentencing, the court treated the offences on this basis, giving a more serious penalty for the second and third occasions and also giving a greater fine for those items which were out of date for a longer period. They also gave maximum benefit for an early guilty plea.
The fines given were as follows:
17 May offences:
Soured cream - 2 days out of date - £100
Pancakes - 14 days out of date - £300
Yoghurt - 18 days out of date - £800
7 August offences:
3 items - 1 day out of date - £100 each
Ravioli - 10 days out of date - £800
19 Oct offence:
Orange juice: 12 days out of date - £2,000
Total fine: £4,300
Costs award of £1306.
Victim surcharge of £15 (added to every fine handed out in court for a criminal offence and to be paid into a fund aimed at helping improve services for victims of crime).
Total £5,621
The defendant stated in mitigation that there are 33 stores in the region and there had been no problem with this store nor the other 32 stores for at least a period of ten years. The errors were attributable to human error and there had been two resignations from the staff, re-training and a new employee taken on to specifically address the date code checking on a daily basis.