Lancashire food businesses caught mis-selling kebabs are prosecuted
Kebabs containing completely different meats to what they were advertised as, have been discovered during food sampling investigations across Lancaster, Preston and Burnley.
Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards officers took robust action and recently prosecuted two food businesses who, despite prior advice, continued to sell products made up of different meat species to those they were described as containing.
Fuzail Patel pleaded guilty at Lancaster Magistrates Court to two charges relating to meat platters produced by his company, trading as Eat Indian, based in Lancaster.
He supplied these platters to a Preston farm shop and when Trading Standards sampled them in March 2024, the lamb seekh kebab and chicken seekh kebab in the platters were both found to be made up of the same mix of lamb, chicken and beef.
Mr Patel had previously been advised on food labelling requirements but failed to address the issues. He also misled officers as the platters were labelled with business details of his limited company that had ceased trading two months previously.
In court, Mr Patel stated he had obtained the pre-made kebabs from a food producer then added his own branded labels but failed to make his own checks on the content of the products. He must pay costs and a victim surcharge of more than £4,500.
In another recent case, officers took shop manager Waleed Raza and Fazila Wadia, company director of now dissolved company Naafiah Burnley Limited to Blackburn Magistrates Court for offences at Burnley takeaway Naafiah Grill and Pizza.
They pleaded guilty to supplying mixed lamb and chicken kebabs which actually contained mostly beef, with some chicken and lamb in it.
They had previously been advised by Trading Standards following a previous failed sample. They blamed their meat supplier for a mix up over the meat they supplied, but were unable to provide any records or checks.
The court was told that Mrs Wadia is no longer involved, while Waleed Raza is the company director of a new company that has taken over the takeaway. The court heard steps are now being taken by him to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Both defendants received a conditional discharge for 12 months, with costs and a victim surcharge to be paid totalling £953.17 each.
Councillor Joshua Roberts, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for Rural Affairs, Environment, and Communities, said:
"Thanks to the diligence and hard work of our Trading Standards officers, firms who have been misleading members of the public have been fined for their blatant disregard for public safety.
"It is vital for businesses to maintain accurate records and comply with food safety regulations.
"Inaccurate meat kebab products have become a national issue for Trading Standards, which has conducted extensive sampling in recent years to address the problem.
"Consumers often do not know what meat they are eating and, shockingly, those making these products often don't know either. Lancashire residents have the right to know what they are eating, and we will take action against firms who fail to comply."
For businesses requiring further advice there is free guidance and training on the Food Standards Agency website at https://www.food.gov.uk/ and on the Business Companion website - https://www.businesscompanion.info