Asda fined £410,000 for selling out-of-date food in Cornwall
Trading Standards in the Duchy investigated the supermarket
Supermarket chain Asda has been fined £410,000 for selling out-of-date food in two Cornwall stores.
The Council's Trading Standards Team investigated following complaints from numerous customers.
Officers found 58 food items on sale at the Penryn store in October 2023, with four items discovered at the Hayle branch in November.
Some of the items, including children's yoghurts, were nearly four weeks past their use-by date.
Asda pleaded guilty at Plymouth Magistrates Court yesterday (Wednesday 23rd April) to two charges of having unsafe food for sale, contrary to regulation 19 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
The business has been ordered to pay a fine of £410,000, prosecutions costs of £20,582.70 and a victim surcharge of £2,000.
Use-by dates are applied to highly perishable foods that could pose a serious health risk if consumed after this date and Food Standards Agency guidance states they should not be eaten.
Jane Tomlinson, Trading Standards Group Leader at Cornwall Council, said: “We are committed to ensuring that the food sold to consumers is safe and it is disappointing that on these occasions, we found items for sale which could have presented a danger to the public.
“Consumers should be confident that the food they buy is safe to eat. We hope that the steps Asda Stores Ltd have now put in place will prevent the sale of out-of-date food in future.”