A Bristol shopkeeper has been fined for selling rotten fruit and vegetables following an investigation by the Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate (HMI).
Iftikar Hussain, owner of Rehan’s Foodstore & Off Licence in Easton, Bristol, was sentenced at Bristol Magistrates Court on 16 September 2015. He pleaded guilty to all 11 charges and was fined £5,000 for the offences, £500 for the prosecution’s costs and a £120 victim surcharge.
An investigation in February 2015 found 11 regulated displays breaking the EU marketing rules relating to fresh produce quality and labelling.
Rotten fruit included outgrade Cripps Pink apples, which failed to meet the lowest marketable standard permitted for 10 per cent rots, eight per cent heavy bruises and seven per cent scald skin defects.
Another display of lemons has “blatant rot and white mould deposits”, and failed to meet the lowest marketable standard permitted for the 26 per cent rots.
Rural payments agency operations director Paul Caldwell said prosecution is only used as a last resort. “We will always try to gain statutory compliance with the marketing standard regulations through advice, guidance and where possible with the full cooperation and support from the business itself,' he said.
“In this particular case, the prosecution followed a series of risk-based inspection visits to the shop where advice and guidance on compliance was offered. During this time the owner consistently failed to meet his statutory responsibility and failed to ensure that the quality and labelling of the fresh produce placed on offer for sale met the required minimum standards permitted.”
In sentencing, the magistrates said that the offences were “very serious” and the defendant had a duty of care to his customers that he had disregarded.
