Company ordered to pay over £6,000 for food safety offences

A local company was successfully prosecuted last Thursday (22 January) for selling potentially harmful food products that didn’t meet legal labelling requirements.

ATM Family Ltd, who operate Best Store on Doncaster Road, Goldthorpe (S63 9HG), pleaded guilty to offences under the Food Safety Act, being ordered to pay £6,600 in fines and costs.

During a routine inspection of the store last May, our Trading Standards team found that they were selling food products that didn’t include the name and address of a UK business and didn’t meet legal labelling requirements, such as correct allergen information in English.

As part of this initial visit, the team also found that the company was operating without an up-to-date food business licence, meaning they weren’t registered to sell these products.

Despite issuing formal improvement notices, a follow-up visit found that the store was still selling food products that didn’t meet labelling requirements, putting public safety at risk.

This prosecution, which will also see these potentially unsafe products seized, is a fantastic result for our Trading Standards and Legal Services teams, showing how we’re committed to working together to make sure food safety standards are maintained across local businesses.

Councillor Wendy Cain, Cabinet Spokesperson for Public Health and Communities, said: “We’re committed to keeping our communities safe, and we take this responsibility very seriously. Our teams do great work to support businesses to understand their responsibilities and comply with safety standards, including issuing warnings where they can correct errors.

“This prosecution shows how we will always put people’s health and safety first, taking swift action when businesses fail to work with us in making improvements.

“I would like to thank our Trading Standards and Legal Services teams for all their hard work on this case to keep potentially harmful products off our shelves.”

Our Trading Standards team are here to help businesses understand their food safety responsibilities. If you operate a business selling food and drink and have any of the following concerns, please call the team on 01226 773743 for advice and support:

• If you’re selling any food products that are not labelled in English.
• If you’re selling imported products that don’t include the name and address of a business based in the UK.
• If you’re selling food and drink but are not currently registered as a food business.

It’s important that any food for sale includes the right information about ingredients and allergens, protecting consumers from buying products which might be harmful to their health. You can find out more about food labelling and regulations on our website.