Asda fined £640,000 for selling out-of-date food at stores in Wales

North Wales Live

17-07-2025

Asda has been hit with a £640,000 penalty for selling expired food at two of its Welsh outlets. Trading Standards inspectors discovered 115 items, some more than a fortnight past their sell-by date, at Asda's Leckwith and Pentwyn branches in Cardiff.
The supermarket giant faced four charges connected to the sale of expired food products following four separate inspections by food safety officials during 2024.
A visit to the Leckwith store on January 17 of that year found 36 out of date items, including five tubs of spicy mayo dip seven days out of date, reports PA.
A visit to the Pentwyn store in the Cardiff Gate retail park on March 25 found 25 outdated items, while another visit to the store a month later found 48 items, including some that were 12 days out of date. A second visit to the Leckwith store on May 8 found a further six out of date items.
Asda was given a fine of £640,000 and ordered to pay £15,115 in costs and a £2,000 surcharge. Asda said the prosecution related to food safety breaches that took place last year, when a different date code checking process was in use.
An updated process that had been in place since November 24 involved daily manual checks on all short-life products and twice-weekly checks on every long-life product.
An Asda spokesman said: "We regret that out-of-date food was found on sale at two of our Cardiff stores last year and accept that our usual high standards were not upheld.
"Since then, we have introduced a new date code checking process across all our stores, whereby every short-life product is checked daily so that customers can always buy the freshest products."
Kerry Nicol, external affairs manager at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said: "Supermarkets have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that food on their shelves is safe and within its use by date.
"Selling food past its use by date not only breaches consumer protection laws but also risks public health and undermines trust. Trading Standards teams across the country play a vital role in monitoring compliance and taking action where necessary.
"We urge all retailers to prioritise robust stock management and quality assurance processes to ensure consumers are protected and confidence in the food supply chain is maintained."