Barnsley businesses fined more than £9,000 over unsafe food and illegal tobacco
Inspections uncovered a “large quantity” of illegal tobacco hidden in one of the stores
Two South Yorkshire businesses have been hit with more than £9,000 in fines and costs after being caught selling unsafe food and illegal tobacco.
Baron Store Ltd, on High Street in Grimethorpe, was ordered to pay £8,186.97 after pleading guilty to multiple breaches of food labelling regulations.
Trading Standards officers said the shop continued to sell products with incorrect or missing labelling, including food not labelled in English, without UK-format nutritional information, and lacking details of a UK-based operator, despite repeated advice, warnings and formal notices.
The company was fined £5,000, ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and £1,186.97 in costs.
In a separate case, Bryar Raza Ahmed, of St James Street, Doncaster, was prosecuted for similar food labelling offences while running JD Mini Market on Barnsley Road, Goldthorpe.
Inspections also uncovered a “large quantity” of illegal tobacco hidden in the premises. Mr Ahmed, who had also been warned several times, admitted the offences and was given a 12-month community order requiring 300 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,397.71 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
The prosecutions, brought by Barnsley Council’s Regulatory Services and Legal Services teams, followed months of enforcement work.
Councillor Wendy Cain, cabinet spokesperson for public health and communities, said:
“We’re committed to protecting Barnsley residents from harm – whether that’s through tackling unsafe food, counterfeit goods, or illicit tobacco. These cases send a clear message: if you trade illegally and continue to do so when warned, we will take action.”
The council said the penalties come on top of recent operations in the town centre targeting counterfeit goods, which saw counterfeit fragrances and electronics seized.
Businesses selling imported food must ensure it is safe, legal, and correctly labelled before it is offered to customers.