A SUPERMARKET owner has been ordered to pay more than £20,000 in fines and costs for selling items of food up to nearly 50 days over their use-by date.

Trading Standards made a routine visit to Shimla Superstore Ltd, in Clayton Road, Bradford, on September 13 last year and discovered 88 items available for sale past their use-by date.

Of these, five items of a turkey product with olives were 48 days out of date.

When added together, the total number of days past the use-by date for all 88 items was 1,769.

Muhammed Nadeem, 40, pleaded guilty to 14 charges of selling unsafe food contrary to Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013 when he appeared before Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court.

He also pleaded guilty to five separate charges of selling unsafe food which Trading Standards highlighted as being the longest out of date.

A spokesman for Trading Standards said when officers attended the store in September, no date checking records indicating that date checks had been undertaken were available and there was no evidence of staff training.

The defendant had told them family issues, staff changes and a burglary were the reasons the dates had not been checked.

Following the inspection, the store says it has now employed new members of staff, undertaken training of all staff in relation to date checking and has developed more rigorous date checking procedures.

David Lodge, Head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said following the successful prosecution: “Friday’s result highlights the importance of all food businesses being diligent in meeting their legal responsibilities.

“Food businesses must take steps to ensure that only food which is safe and has not exceeded its use-by date is supplied to customers and communities which they serve.”

Trading Standards added that businesses are reminded to ensure that they undertake regular checks on items bearing use by dates and invest in appropriate staff training and recording methods.

The spokesman added: “It is an offence to make available for supply to customers any items of food past their use by date.

“Use-by dates are placed on foods which are considered from a microbiological view, to be highly perishable and are therefore likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health

“Food available for sale past this date is automatically deemed unsafe.”

Speaking after the court case, Mr Nadeem said he realised it was a serious offence but had taken steps to ensure it was not repeated.

“It was a mistake which we have admitted and which we are sorry for.

“We have all had the necessary training now and value our customers and want them to know we would not knowingly sell any product which was not safe,” he said.

Shimla Superstore Ltd was fined £1,000 for each of the 14 offences plus costs of £1,323.

Nadeem was fined £1,000 for each of five offences plus a victim surcharge of £100.