Al Noor supermarket on Stapleton Road, Easton, fined for selling rotten fruit and veg

A FRUIT and veg supermarket in Easton has been fined £2,800 for selling rotten produce.

Al Noor on Stapleton Road was found to be selling food that did not comply with the European Union marketing standards for quality and labelling, and many items were unfit for human consumption.

At Bristol Magistrates’ Court, Basharat Mahmood, a partner of the retail business trading under the name, admitted ten breaches of EU marketing standards for fresh horticultural produce.

The case followed an investigation by the Rural Payments Agency’s (RPA) Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate.

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Among the fruit and veg in question were galia melons, iceberg lettuce, Khaki sharon fruit, celery, limes, apples, onions, pears, sweet peppers and asparagus.

All the above were either rotting, discoloured, covered in “foreign matter”, bruised or displayed without the country of origin labelled.

The retailer was fined £2,800 and has to pay costs of £745, plus a £120 victim’s surcharge.

RPA’s operations director Paul Caldwell said: “The RPA’s horticultural marketing inspectors pursue criminal prosecution only as a last resort. We work intensively with traders to help and encourage them to follow the regulations.

“It’s important that consumers should be confident they are buying good quality fresh produce and we are committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that traders provide what they promise.”

Between April 2011 and March 2012, Al Noor failed eight successive inspections due to sub-standard quality and labelling.

HMI inspectors provided advice and guidance, which led to “more targeted enforcement visits”, before prosecution was pursued when regulations were still not complied with.

Al Noor was given a rating of five – “very good” – for its food hygiene by the city council on its last inspection.