Supermarket is fined £410,000 after it sold out-of-date food in two shops

ONE of the country's largest supermarket chains has been fined £410,000 for selling out-of-date food at two of its stores in Cornwall.

- by SCOTT HARRISON

Asda Stores Ltd pleaded guilty to having unsafe food on sale at its outlets in Penryn and Hayle.

The charge was brought following a countywide investigation by Cornwall Council's trading standards officers into the sale of out-of-date food by supermarkets, which was launched after they received a number of complaints.

During an inspection at Asda's Penryn store on October 30, 2023, trading standards officers found 58 food items which were past their use-by date still on shelves. Several were products intended for children.

Many of the items were ready-to-eat foods, including children's yoghurts which were nearly four weeks past their use-by-date.

An inspection Asda in Hayle on November 1 found a further four items past the use-by-date.