Bradford shopkeeper fined for selling out-of-date food

The former manager of the Euro Market on Great Horton Road, Ballen Mohammad Zarar, was in charge of the store during two inspections by food standards officers in late 2022, when officers found 70 food products on shelves that were past their date legal limit of use.

An item was 17 days out of date.

Zarar, who is no longer involved in the business, appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with EU food safety provisions.

Magistrates were told the shop had a “poor record” in terms of food hygiene and it was the second time Zarar had appeared in court in recent years over food safety issues.

In November 2022, he was convicted after admitting to several food safety charges following an inspection the previous year in which inspectors found moldy meat on shelves and items up to 51 days past their use-by date.

He was previously fined £1,107 and ordered to pay £3,265 in costs and a £111 surcharge, which he said bankrupted him.

This time magistrates fined Zarar £320 and ordered him to pay costs of £1,745 and a surcharge of £128.