Food packaging firm fined for ‘illegal’ repackaging
Current food hygiene regulations require any company working with animal-based products to apply to their local council for permission before labelling their products as ‘approved’. For one Bradford-based company that failed to do so, the omission has proved to be an expensive mistake.
When council officers visited the company, they found that it had been repackaging powdered milk products for at least five years, without the necessary permission or approval. It was also found that the new packaging displayed best before dates that were twelve months after the original BB dates on the French products.
The company was prosecuted for a total of three breaches of food safety legislation; including failing to put in place a procedure to regulate hazards in the production of food and failing to obtain the necessary permission to work with foods that come from animal sources.
The solicitor acting for the company pleaded guilty to all three breaches on behalf of the packaging company. It was fined a total of five thousand pounds for these breaches, and ordered to pay a further two and a half thousand pounds in court costs.