Bradford shop fined for selling food 35 DAYS out of date
The store's director will have to pay over £11,000
A SHOP on Great Horton Road had cottage cheese that was 35 days past its use by date on its shelves when it was visited by food safety inspectors.
Other out of date products on sale at Kofola included buttermilk, black pudding products and various meats.
On Wednesday, the director of the shop, Hallo Omid, was ordered to pay over £11,000 by magistrates after admitting a series of food hygiene charges brought by Bradford Council.
Magistrates told Omid he had shown “a complete disregard for the importance of food safety.”
The shop has since closed, the business wound up and Omid is currently considering moving to Belgium to make a new life for himself.
Omid, 39, of Berkshire Court in Bury, pleaded guilty to 19 food hygiene offences when he appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates on Wednesday.
The charges included that items of food were “exposed for sale past their use by date” that there was no “designated hand washbasin in the area where raw and ready to eat foods are handled” and that “the basement food store was damp and in a poor condition and could not be adequately cleaned with numerous cigarette butts on the floor.”
Another charge said “food was not protected against any contamination likely to render the food unfit for human consumption, injurious to health or contaminated” and another said the shop’s “lavatory was in a total state of disrepair.”
Imran Hussain, prosecuting the case on behalf of Bradford Council, said inspectors visited the store on December 8, 2022 after receiving complaints that Kofola was selling out of date food.
He said the inspectors “removed a large number of items” that were past their use by date.
He said: “120 food items were exposed for sale that were past their use by date. There were dairy products including natural butter milk that was 38 days past its use by date and cottage cheese 35 days past its use by date, vacuum packed meats and chicken.
“In total the items were 2,626 days past their use by date.”
He told magistrates of the shop’s unhygienic conditions, including a lack of hot water and soap in the only hand basin in the shop.
Omid was given a hygiene improvement notice, and inspectors returned in late January. Mr Hussain said: “There was evidence the notice hadn’t been complied with.
“There was more food past its use by date for sale. There were 103 items of food taken as evidence, including dairy products and a number of black pudding products.
In total the food was 3,186 days out of date. It was clear Omid had shown a clear disregard for the importance of food safety.”
Officers explained how important it was for Omid to comply with the notices.
Magistrates were told how the store had been given a food hygiene rating of 0.
The shop was re-inspected in December 2023, and many issues remained.
Mr Hussain said: “Thirteen items of food were exposed for sale past their use by date, including four packs of meat. Some meat was five days past their use by date.
“It was obvious the defendant had failed to take food hygiene seriously, or realise the dangers these items of food can pose, especially if consumed past their use by date.”
Mr Khan, defending Omid, said: “This was a case where an individual was trying to run a business without doing his research.”
He said issues at the store arose after he appointed a manager to run the store, and took a less hands on approach to the business.
He added: “But he accepts responsibility, as it all falls on his shoulders because he was the director.
“He has finished up the business because of these charges.”
He told Magistrates that he had returned to the country from Belgium to attend court, and has plans to possibly move there in the near future.
He had no income, was not on benefits and was entirely supported by his family – the court heard.
Mr Walker, Chair of the Bench, said: “You have shown a wilful blindness with regards to food hygiene and safety requirements.
“Notices had been issued, and you had plenty of time to comply. The safety inspectors went beyond what should have been expected of them.
“It is clear you have shown a complete disregard for the importance of food safety.”
He was fined £5,000, ordered to pay £4,713 costs to Bradford Council and a £2,000 surcharge.
He was told he would have to pay the fine at a rate of £250 a month, and failure to pay could result in Omid being sent to prison.