Mack’s Birmingham Wholesale Market branch and one of its traders have been hit with a court bill of £15,500 in fines and costs.
M&W Mack Ltd t/a Mack Markets Division and salad salesman Philip Wheeler were prosecuted by the Horticultural Marketing Inspections arm of the Rural Payments Agency on December 21, 2007. The prosecution was brought for displaying and selling five below-standard consignments of tomatoes, capsicum and lettuce at the Birmingham market.
Both the company and Wheeler each pleaded guilty to a total of nine offences at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court and were fined a total of £11,250 and ordered to pay costs of £4,250.
The charges related to breaches of EC grading rules for fresh fruit and vegetables at Birmingham Wholesale Market on April 25, 2007. Wheeler, acting on behalf of Mack Markets Division, displayed and offered for sale two consignments of Canary Islands tomatoes, a consignment of Israeli sweet yellow peppers, one consignment of Spanish sweet red peppers and one consignment of Spanish iceberg lettuce, all of which were below the minimum standards for saleable produce, in contravention of the Agricultural and Horticulture Act 1964.
All five consignments failed to meet class II of standards and the consignments all contained a higher than allowed proportion of rotting produce. The prosecution was brought following investigation by HMI.
Barrie Stedman, head of the Rural Payments Agency’s Inspectorate, said: “Our inspectors are there to help traders ensure their merchandise is up to a proper standard and that consumers can be confident in the produce they are buying.
“HMI advice was offered to Mack Markets Division and Mr Wheeler on numerous occasions but was ignored. We view court action as a last resort, and only proceed with it when we believe we have exhausted all other options to get a trader to trade within the law. However, as this case shows, we are perfectly willing to go to court if necessary, to ensure that the law is upheld and that the interests of consumers and traders operating within the law are protected.”
Mack was fined £1,000 per offence for each of the nine offences, and ordered to pay a contribution of £4,000 towards costs. Wheeler was fined £250 for each of the offences, and ordered to pay a £250 contribution towards costs.
M&W Mack Ltd released a statement to freshinfo this morning. It reads: “M&W Mack Ltd regret but accept that the product samples in question did indeed fall below acceptable standards, did not contest the charges, and neither Mack nor the employee concerned will be appealing the fine imposed by the court.
“For a company that prides itself on the quality and reliability of its produce, this occurrence is surprising and distressing. On learning of the inspection failure, a full investigation of the circumstances was instigated.
“Depending on the season, anywhere between 500 and 600 pallets of produce are sold through the Birmingham branch each week, and Mack are proud of their consistent reputation for quality. The company is confident that new procedures that have already been implemented will minimise any future risk.
“No customer complaints about the produce in question were received.”
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