Asda ordered to pay £432,000 after selling food four weeks past use-by date
Asda ordered to pay £432,000 after selling food four weeks past use-by date
Any food displayed for sale past its use-by date is legally deemed to be unsafe
Dozens of items were found to be past their use-by date at the Asda store
(Image: Cornwall Trading Standards )
Asda has been fined £410,000 after it was found to be selling out-of-date food. Investigators from Cornwall Council's Trading Standard's department discovered dozens of items at one store were past their use-by date.
These included several products aimed at children including yoghurts which were nearly four weeks out of date. Any food displayed for sale past its use-by date is legally deemed to be unsafe.
County trading standards officers acted after receiving a number of consumer complaints, launching a county-wide investigation into the sale of out-of-date food at supermarkets. An inspection at Asda's Penryn store on October 30, 2023, revealed 58 food items on shelves past their use-by date.
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Many of these were ready to eat foods including children's yoghurts which were nearly four weeks past their use-by date. A separate inspection at the Asda store in Hayle on November 1, 2023, found a further four items past the use-by date.
Out of date products are deemed unsafe to eat
(Image: Cornwall Trading Standards )
On Wednesday 23 April, 2025, at Plymouth Magistrates' Court Asda Stores Ltd admitted two charges of having unsafe food on offer for sale contrary to regulation 19 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013. The charges referred to 62 food items that were past their use-by date.
The case was heard by District Judge Jo Matson who said that although there were systems in place to prevent the sale of food after the expiry of the use by date, they were not adhered to. She added that after concerns had been raised by customers and Trading Standards officers, the actions taken by Asda were not sufficient.
Asda Stores Ltd was ordered to pay a fine of £410,000, prosecutions costs of £20,582.70 and a victim surcharge of £2,000.
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Use-by dates are applied to highly perishable foods that could pose a serious health risk if consumed after this date. According to Food Standards Agency guidance they should not be eaten.
Jane Tomlinson, Trading Standards Group Leader at Cornwall Council, said: 'We are committed to ensuring that the food sold to consumers is safe and it is disappointing that on these occasions, we found items for sale which could have presented a danger to the public.
"Consumers should be confident that the food they buy is safe to eat. We hope that the steps Asda Stores Ltd have now put in place will prevent the sale of out-of-date food in future.'
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