A major UK supermarket has been fined hundreds of thousands of pounds after food safety officers uncovered a shocking number of out-of-date items on sale.
The breaches were discovered during multiple inspections at two stores, triggering a prosecution and significant penalties.
Supermarket giant Asda has been hit with a £640,000 fine after Trading Standards officers discovered 115 out-of-date food items at two of its Cardiff stores during inspections last year.
The retailer faced four charges following visits to its Leckwith and Pentwyn branches in 2024, where officials found products that were up to two weeks past their expiry dates.
ASDA | Asda hit with £640,000 fine
The substantial penalty comes after food safety officers conducted four separate inspections between January and May 2024, uncovering repeated breaches of food safety regulations.
In addition to the fine, Asda was ordered to pay £15,115 in costs and a £2,000 surcharge.
The supermarket has since overhauled its date-checking procedures, implementing daily manual checks on short-life products and twice-weekly reviews of long-life items across all stores.
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The first inspection at the Leckwith store on January 17 revealed 36 expired products, including five tubs of spicy mayo dip that were seven days past their use-by date.
Officers visiting the Pentwyn branch at Cardiff Gate retail park on March 25 discovered 25 out-of-date items.
A follow-up inspection at the same location in April uncovered 48 products beyond their expiry dates, with some items twelve days overdue. A final visit to the Leckwith store on May 8 found an additional six expired products on the shelves.
PA | Asda was ordered to pay £15,115 in costs and a £2,000 surcharge
The repeated discoveries across multiple inspections led to the prosecution and subsequent financial penalties imposed on the supermarket chain.
Asda acknowledged the breaches occurred under a previous date-checking system that has since been replaced.
An Asda spokesman said: "We regret that out-of-date food was found on sale at two of our Cardiff stores last year and accept that our usual high standards were not upheld.
ASDA | The company confirmed that the new procedures require staff to conduct daily manual inspections of all short-life products
"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."
The company confirmed that the new procedures, implemented from November 24, require staff to conduct daily manual inspections of all short-life products.
Long-life items now undergo mandatory checks twice weekly as part of the enhanced food safety protocols introduced following the Trading Standards investigation.