The law requires that all descriptions applied to food and drink be accurate. This is regardless of how they are given such as labels, menus, blackboards or verbal descriptions by staff.
It is an offence under The Food Safety Act to sell food or drink if it is:
- not of the nature (for example if potatoes are described as ‘Cheshire new potatoes’ then they should not be ‘Cyprus new potatoes’)
- not of the quality (for example crisps should not be soggy)
- not of the substance (e.g. a ‘cheese & tomato pizza’ should have real cheese on it and not a cheese analogue substance) demanded by the purchaser.
The law is quite clear - failure to inform customers properly and to give misleading information is an alleged criminal offence. The trader must make sure they describe properly what is on offer. With food they will usually get it right if they use the descriptions on the labels of the ingredients they are using. Do not be tempted to abbreviate any descriptions.
For example it would be an alleged offence to use the description scampi (which indicates a whole-unprocessed Dublin Bay prawn) when the description on the packaging is ‘chopped and reformed scampi and prawns in golden breadcrumbs.’
There are other descriptions with which care should be taken. These include ‘home-made,’ ‘suitable for vegetarians’ and ‘low fat.’
It is also an offence to substitute food and drink. For example Smirnoff vodka must not be decanted into a Vladivar vodka bottle and sold as such. It goes without saying that it is an alleged offence to adulterate spirits with something such as water.
What is the penalty for non-compliance?
The penalty, if found guilty of non compliance, is a fine of up to £20 000 and/or up to six months imprisonment for summary conviction and an unlimited fine and/or up to two years imprisonment for conviction on indictment.
Stock rotation
The Food Labelling Regulations 1996 control the labelling of food. Most pre-packed foods are required to bear an expiry date. It is given either in the form of a ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date.
The ‘use by’ date is generally used for foods which have a short shelf life and could be dangerous to health if consumed after that date. The ‘best before’ date is generally used on foods with a longer shelf life and is an indication that the food may begin to deteriorate after that date although it may not be dangerous to health.
It is an offence to sell food past its ‘use by’ date. It is not in itself an offence to sell food past its ‘best before’ date. However, traders should ensure that the quality of the food has not deteriorated, as this could result in an offence being committed under the Food Safety Act (see above). It is also an offence to remove or alter a date mark without the prior consent of the manufacturer.
Traders should ensure that the expiry dates of all food and drinks are checked on a regular basis. A good stock rotation system is essential.
What is the penalty for non-compliance?
A trader found guilty of selling food past its ‘use by’ date faces of penalty of a fine of up to £5 000 for summary conviction.