Members of the public began complaining about the expired food after visiting stores on Lekwith Road, Canton, and Pentwyn, both in Wales. Some of the sales were of high-risk items like meat and dairy. The oldest item found in the shop was seven days past its best-before date, and months after initial complaints, six expired items were found on store shelves.
Over a four-month period, 115 out-of-date food items were found, raising serious concerns about food safety.
Ian McDonald, representing Asda, told the court that the supermarket chain took matters of food safety seriously, and said since the complaints, Asda had implemented a new system for monitoring out-of-date food. The consultation process cost £1,000,000, and the initial training of 105,000 members of staff cost over £600,000, with no issues since the new system was brought in.
Judge Charlotte Murphy said she accepted that Asda had systems in place but said they weren’t sufficient, and the complaints were not isolated incidents, and did rule that there was a ‘low risk’ of adverse effects to the general public.
Asda pleaded guilty to four charges. As well as a £640,000 fine, the court also ordered the retailer to pay £15,115 in prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £2,000, and Asda was ordered to pay the sum within 28 days.
Cllr Norma Mackie, council cabinet member with responsibility for Shared Regulatory Services at Cardiff Council, said consumers should be confident that food in shops is safe to eat. She said “In this case, Asda fell significantly short of the required standards expected. The systems that they had in place were clearly inadequate, and we hope that Asda has now taken the necessary steps to rectify these failings to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.”
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