Essex c-store fined heavily over food safety breaches

A convenience store in Essex has been fined more than £5,000 for food safety breaches as the local council is cracking down on traders who fail to comply with food safety regulations.

As announced by Southend-on-Sea City Council recently, B.U.S Premier LTD, which operates Randell's Food and Wine in Essex pleaded guilty to breaches of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013. These breaches occurred between March 8 2023 and June 7 2023.

Environmental health officers from Southend-on-Sea City Council found the business displaying a total of 39 out-of-date food items with expired "use by" dates over a five-month period, despite repeated warnings.

During a visit on March 8 2023, officers discovered 21 out-of-date pre-packed high-risk ready-to-eat food items on display for sale. Some of these items were over two weeks out of date. On a subsequent visit on June 7 2023, officers found an additional 18 items on display, up to 18 days past their "use by" date.

The business also failed to implement proper food safety procedures regarding stock control, including removing food items with expired "use by" dates from sale.

Councillor Ian Gilbert, cabinet member for regeneration, major projects, and regulatory services, said, “'Use by' dates are placed on highly perishable foods by manufacturers to protect consumer health. After this date, these foods constitute an immediate danger to human health from a microbiological standpoint. Food businesses must ensure robust procedures are in place to check 'use by' dates to prevent unsafe food from reaching consumers.

“Our Environmental Health Officers consistently visit food businesses to ensure compliance with food safety requirements. This successful prosecution serves as a clear warning that Southend-on-Sea City Council will not hesitate to take action where public health is at risk.”

B.U.S Premier LTD and the Company Director, Balasubramaniya Sivasaravanan, were ordered to pay £2,739.30 in fines, with costs awarded to Southend-on-Sea City Council totaling £1,971.20, as well as a victim surcharge of £1,095. The total cost amounts to £5,805.50, which both the company and the director must pay within six months.