A Bradford company which “illegally repackaged” 10,000 tonnes of internationally-distributed powdered milk over five years has been handed a £5,000 fine.

Bradford Magistrates’ Court heard P&B (Foods) Ltd, of Planetrees Road, also added an extra 12 months “without any sound authorisation” to best before dates on its Heera Milk Powder – a product which originated in France.

No one from P&B (Foods) Ltd attended the hearing, but solicitor Richard Wright entered guilty pleas to three breaches of food hygiene legislation on its behalf.

Speaking after the hearing, Andrew Thornton, Bradford Council’s executive member for environment, sport and sustainability, said: “This case shows that Bradford Council is determined to ensure that all food businesses which operate in the district adhere to strict food safety procedures or face the legal consequences.

“We will not allow the health of consumers to be put at risk by businesses which flout food safety legislation and operate irresponsibly.”

The court heard that to comply with food hygiene regulations, any firm which works with food products which originate from animals must apply to their local authority for permission and label the product as approved but P&B (Foods) Ltd had not.

Richard Winter, prosecuting for the Council, said officers visited the firm’s factory on July 27, where company secretary Mohinder Singh Bhatoa initially “misled” them by claiming the powdered milk was repackaged by another company but a short time later admitted the repackaging took place in Bradford.

The boss told officers the company had been repackaging the product in bags of 200g and 700g for “at least five years”.

The firm was fined £2,500 for failing to have a procedure to regulate hazards in the production of food and a further £2,500 for failing to have authority to work with products from an animal origin. It was also ordered to pay £2,533 costs.

Mr Wright, mitigating, said the firm, which has 100 employees and has been trading in Bradford for 40 years, now fully complied with its legal obligations and had a procedure in place to eliminate hazards.

No one from the P&B (Foods) Ltd wanted to comment.