A village shop owner faces fines after selling food well past its use-by date, raising serious safety concerns for local customers.
Hirwaun: A village shop owner is in hot water after selling food that was way past its use-by date. Ms. Ponnuthurai, who runs Hirwaun Village Stores, has been fined for this serious oversight.
It all started when a complaint led a Trading Standards Officer to check out the shop. They discovered some food items, like TGI Fridays BBQ beef brisket, were 132 days overdue. Even worse, the Buffalo chicken wings were 153 days past their date!
But that’s not all. They also found milk that was 10 months past its best before date. There were no signs to warn customers, and the prices hadn’t been lowered either.
While it’s not illegal to sell food past its best before date, the council raised concerns about whether the shop was properly checking dates and rotating stock. If they had been doing regular checks, they would have caught those expired items long ago.
According to food safety regulations, selling unsafe food is a big no-no. Ms. Ponnuthurai admitted her mistake and ended up paying over £1,800 in fines and costs.
Councillor Bob Harris emphasized that food businesses must ensure their products are safe. He pointed out that it’s unacceptable for shops to keep selling expired food, especially after previous warnings.
He also mentioned that the Trading Standards team is there to help businesses stay compliant. This incident should serve as a wake-up call for other shops to get their act together when it comes to food safety.
