Kettering shop owner who sold ‘shocking' out-of-date meats fined £17k and BANNED from selling food

A former Kettering business owner has been fined £17,274 and banned from operating a food business after inspectors discovered 182 items of unsafe foods in his shop.

Kadim Majeedi pleaded guilty to 11 offences at Wellingborough Magistrates Court on October 24 where a Prohibition Order was granted, preventing him from owning or managing a food business.

Officers from North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) carried out routine inspections over a 10-month period and removed from sale 182 items weighing more than 120kg.

Majeedi was running Torba in Montagu Street, Kettering, in January 2022, when NNC officers Officers visited the shop and questioned the staff about multiple items of unlabelled food on the chilled delicatessen counter.

Staff were unsure when the food had been unwrapped or unpacked and concerns were raised directly with Majeedi, who agreed to dispose of 40kgs of food.

Due to the poor standard found during the inspection, the premises were put on a six-month interval for further inspection and in August 2022, a further visit was carried out.

Once again, many unlabelled items were noted, and staff could not answer basic questions about the safety of the food.

Staff tried to smuggle several bin liners of food from the shop floor behind where officers were stood but they were stopped and the contents examined.

Inspectors found 116 items of out-of-date food , including ready-to-eat meats, cheeses and dairy products.

Officers found that several breaches of food hygiene requirements from previous inspections hadn’t been rectified, including staff training and implementation of a documented food safety management system, including appropriate monitoring checks. Hygiene improvement notices were served requiring the company to rectify these points, along with several other matters.

In September 2022, the business was revisited and it was confirmed that two notices were not being complied with and food, which should have been chilled, was displayed at room temperature. A further visit in October 2022 found items displayed past their use-by date, unlabelled food on the chilled delicatessen and further food items which were not being kept in line with manufacturer’s instructions.

Due to the number of occurrences and volume of items removed from sale, Majeedi was interviewed under caution and the decision made to prosecute for these offences as well as an application made to the magistrates’ court to prohibit Majeedi from owning or managing a food business.

Cllr David Brackenbury, the council’s executive member environmental health, said: “This is truly a shocking case and the size of the fine demonstrates the severity of the offences.

“There is legislation in place for a reason - to protect customers and they should be able to have the confidence that the food they are purchasing is safe and has been stored in an appropriate way.”

Cllr Jason Smithers, leader of NNC, added: “We take a strict approach in cases like this in line with NNC’s enforcement policy and, as shown, will send cases to court, if necessary.”

Majeedi, who has since sold the business, was fined for each of the 11 offences, a victim surcharge and legal costs for NNC were awarded totalling £17,274.