Legal News
Food supplier who delivered food without refrigeration has fine reduced on appeal (27 March 2017)
Date: 27/03/2017
A Cardiff food supplier has had a fine of £120,000 reduced on appeal, after it was prosecuted and convicted of delivering “high risk food” to a business in a vehicle that was not refrigerated.
Global Foods Ltd was prosecuted by City of Cardiff Council and fined at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court in January.
At Newport Crown Court, the appeal was allowed and the fine was reduced from £120,000 to £80,000.
The prosecution in January followed a previous legal notice served on the company for the same offence.
In September 2014, the council received a complaint that food such as ham and cheese was being transported in vehicles that were not refrigerated.
After an investigation, a Remedial Action Notice was served on the company – and a follow up inspection found the company was complying with the legal notice.
However, Cardiff Magistrates’ Court was told that, on 9 December 2015, the company breached the notice when food being delivered in a Global Foods Ltd van to a takeaway in Pentrebane, Cardiff, was found not to be refrigerated – and the driver did not have any temperature control equipment on the vehicle.
Global Foods Ltd claimed that the wrong delivery truck had been loaded in error by a driver.
At Newport Crown Court, the company’s legal representative admitted that the company had made mistakes – but asked the court to look at the issue of proportionality in terms of the fine, given the fact the company had no previous convictions and immediate action was taken to prevent a re-occurrence, including training and new procedures. The company had also since spent £440,000 on new refrigeration vehicles.
The council’s representative said the council supported the appeal application because, in addition to the mitigating factors put forward, the company had also co-operated throughout the process and had taken positive steps in respect of temperature control.
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