A Falmouth-based shellfish company has been fined after putting food on the market with other companies' food safety markings.

On February 10th at Plymouth Magistrates' Court, Falcatch Limited and the company's directorThomas Duanewere fined a total of £1,516 and ordered to pay £2,900 costs and a £140 victim surcharge.

Falcatch Ltd and Mr Duane pleaded guilty to a total of four food hygiene offences.

In November 2019, Port Health Officers based in Falmouth Docks were informed by another local shellfish business that Falcatch Ltd was usingidentification marks-the oval you see on meat,fish and dairy products - belonging to other local businesses.

The courtheard that a nine-month investigation uncovered that Falcatch Ltd had used three different businesses' identification marks,including that of a local egg packer.

Port Health Officers discovered that Falcatch Ltd was putting shellfishon the market with wholesalers in both France and the UK.

In order to trade in this way, the business should have been subject toapproval from the Port Health Authority, after which would it would have been given its own unique identification mark.

The District Judge said she was concerned about the length of time the breaches had been going on as the longer it occurred, the harder it was to trace the products back through the food chain.

Kingsley Keat, prosecuting on behalf of Cornwall Council, saidit was key that any animal products placed on the market only be done so from businesses found to be meetinghigh standards of hygiene, and only from those businesses who were subsequently issued withsuch health numbers.

Apart from meeting hygiene standards, the health numbers allow for the product to be traced quickly,whichis extremely important if, for instance, there was an outbreak of food poisoning.

During mitigation, the court heard Mr Duane had no previous convictions, had cooperated with theinvestigation, had entered guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity and had worked constructively with Port Health Officers to ensure that the business was approved.

The court was told that Mr Duane regretted the incident, took full responsibility and sought not to blame anyone else, but hethought he was passing on the food chain information, thereforewas acting within the confines of the law, andhe had been partially naïve.

He also said that Brexit has had animpact on the business.

Because theoffences all occurred out of the same set of facts, the District Judge fined both the company and Mr Duane in respect of one offenceeach.

Rob Nolan, Portfolio Holder for Public Protection, added:

"The system that approves wholesale businesses to trade in animal products gives confidence to retailers here and abroad that they are buying frompremises with high standards of hygiene and traceability.

"Any attempt to work outside of that system, and pretend that you are within it by using other businesses numbers,can undermine confidence in the system, and is unfair to those businesses that follow the rulesbefore they trade."

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