Dewsbury men sold fake cranberry sauce

On July 24 at Leeds Crown Court, Irfan Hanif Patel of Ravensthorpe Road, Dewsbury received a 12-month community order to fulfil 120 hours of unpaid work having pleaded guilty to offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and a number of food hygiene offences, including failing to register a food business.

His brother, Mohammed Patel of Thornhill Street, Dewsbury received a 12-month community order to fulfil 100 hours of unpaid work having pleaded guilty to the same offences.

Timetables under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for these offences were set by the court for each defendant and confiscation hearings in this matter will be heard at a future date where fines and prosecution costs will also be considered.

In December 2020 West Yorkshire Trading Standards and Kirklees Council Environmental Health Team received intelligence for counterfeit Abel and Cole cranberry sauce being supplied throughout the country. This investigation involved the National Food Crime Unit, and other local authorities.

The counterfeit cranberry sauce was purchased by Irfan Patel who was acting as a sole trader and was supplied to his brother Mohammed Patel, the director of Stock Up Direct Limited. Stock Up Direct Limited supplied over 1,000 jars to a wholesaler who then supplied to various food businesses around the country including two food businesses in the Kirklees area.

Neither brother had registered food businesses with Kirklees Council, therefore, were trading illegally and had never been inspected to ensure they met required food hygiene standards.

Kirklees Council officers identified possible locations of Irfan and Mohammed’s businesses, visiting Irfan’s business, at the time located in Bretton Park Way, Dewsbury.

Irfan said the stock was bought from another trader, who visited the premises and produced an invoice for a business which was untraceable.

Officers also visited the company Stock Up Direct Limited, simultaneously.

A subsequent formal interview with Mohammed Patel, revealed he had never seen any stock that went though the company.

The company was created as a side business for his brother, and he was involved in other larger companies.

The inspection of the Bretton Park Way premises revealed a warehouse with large quantities of food items.

Irfan Patel was unable to provide any documentation to demonstrate the legal provenance of the foods and all food items were detained, pending further investigation.

Furthermore, the origin was unknown so potentially could be linked to illegal food activities such as bringing food destined for waste back into the food chain.

Consequently, all seized food items were destroyed.

A sample of the suspected counterfeit sauce was submitted to the Public Analyst, who concluded that the sauce was not genuine Abel and Cole cranberry sauce.

In a joint statement, Trading Standards Manager, David Strover and Coun Naheed Mather, cabinet member for culture and Greener Kirklees at Kirklees Council said: “Businesses need to ensure they are registered with the local authority 28 days before beginning to operate.

"They must have a traceability system in place and to only purchase stock they believe is legitimate by conducting checks. Supplying food that is counterfeit can pose serious risks to the community as it is often made in an uncontrolled environment with uncontrolled processes and ingredients."