A food supplier who sold lamb to a Mountain Ash takeaway without knowing what meat it was has been prosecuted following a successful investigation by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.
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Trading Standards Food and Enforcement Team carried out a survey in the County Borough to look into the substitution of meat at takeaway premises.
A formal sample of lamb madras was purchased from the Little India Indian Takeaway in Oxford Street, Mountain Ash which after analysis was found to contain only beef. Little India was supplied with meet from the Al Amin Cash and Carry in Tudor Street, Cardiff.
The business Manager, Al Mamum Sarkar, aged 39 of Craddock Street, Cardiff was responsible for purchasing and selling goods from the premises.
He pleaded guilty at Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court to two charges under the General Food Regulations 2004. One offence related to the failure to have in place a system to provide details from whom meat was supplied, and one offence related to the failure to have in place a system to identify other businesses to whom meat had been supplied.
Mr Sarkar was given a Conditional Discharge for 12 months, and was ordered to pay £400 in costs to the local authority and a victim surcharge of £15.
The Court heard that the manager of Little India in Mountain Ash assumed that they were purchasing mutton from Sarkar, and were supplied with receipts indicating this fact.
Further investigation revealed that Sarkar was unable to verify what meat he had supplied as he did not retain any records regarding where the meat was purchased from, or to whom the meat was supplied.
In mitigation, Sarkar stated that he didn’t think that he had to keep records as he considered himself to be more of a corner-shop type business, not a wholesaler, and that he did retain a number of receipts, but agreed that this was not adequate for the business or for traceability as required by the regulations.
David Jones, Head of Community Protection at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said, “Consumers and businesses alike are entitled to expect that the food they purchase is correctly labelled and as described.
“This prosecution should remind businesses, whether at wholesale or retail level, that the law requires them to maintain records to ensure that their products are accurately described and fully traceable, and that checks are being made and any substitution detected will be acted upon.”
The purposeof the traceability provisions is to assist in targeted and accuratewithdrawals and to give information to control officials in the event of food safety problems, thereby avoiding the potential for wider disruption. The requirements apply to any business that trades in food at all stages of the food chain.
Food retailers are not required to keep records of sales to the final consumer (since consumers are not food businesses), but need to identify who is supplying them.
Wholesalers supplying to retailoutlets are required to keep records of who is supplying them, and who they are supplying to. Where aretailerknows that it is supplying to another food business, for example a catering outlet, traceability requirements should be adhered to.
