Horticultural Marketing Inspections (HMI), part of the Rural Payment Agency (RPA), has highlighted the need for traders to double their efforts to properly label fresh produce.

Barrie Stedman, head of the RPA inspectorate, said: “It is important for consumers to know the quality and origin of their fresh produce, so they can make informed buying decisions. The law covering this applies across the European Community, and traders who either mislead customers or simply fail to give the required information are at an unfair advantage. Customers must not be hoodwinked into buying inferior produce.”

The HMI warning comes hot on the heels of a recent prosecution, in which Saxtons Vegetables Ltd of Birmingham was convicted of supplying cabbages, Brussels sprouts and cauliflowers without the correct labelling. The firm omitted to include details of grower, packer, country of origin, quality class and count.

The company was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £6,000 at Birmingham Magistrates Court, after pleading guilty to 11 offences under Section 14 of the Agriculture and Horticulture Act 1964.

"Saxtons has a history of non-compliance with these regulations going back many years and this was seen as the last and only option," a spokesman from the HMI told freshinfo. "This is not the first time we have prosecuted and won, but we do not go down this route lightly; we wait until all other avenues have been exhausted."

Stedman added: “Our inspectors make every effort to help the industry comply. We use a transparent and risk-based approach to gain co-operation and compliance with the distribution chain. In this instance, after concerted attempts to drive compliance by advice and persuasion, we had to resort to prosecution. This decision is consistent with our commitment to follow principles of effective regulation.