LoginFirms Fined for Mis-Labelled Kebabs
Two businesses which sold mis-labelled meat products have been fined by Lancashire Trading Standards.
Journal of Trading Standards Staff
Posted 12 August 2025 | JoTS Online
Content Tags: Updates|Food and Drink|North West
Lancashire Trading Standards has prosecuted two local food businesses which mis-sold kebabs, with sampling tests revealing that the products contained types of meat not included on the labels.
Food supplier Eat Indian provided meat platters to other businesses, including a farm shop in Preston, where Trading Standards Officers took samples in March 2024. The tests revealed that instead of just containing lamb, one platter in fact comprised a mix of lamb, chicken and beef. A separate platter, which was advertised as just containing chicken, also contained a mixture of lamb, chicken and beef.
The company’s director, Fuzail Patel, had previously been advised by Trading Standards about food labelling requirements but failed to take adequate action. The labels also displayed details of a business that had ceased trading two months before.
Patel pleaded guilty to two offences under the Food Safety Act and, in a hearing at Lancaster Magistrates Court on 7 August, was ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge of more than £4,500.
Fuzail had previously come to the attention of Lancashire County Council in 2023, when he was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling more than £14,000 following an investigation by the council’s Environmental Health Team which resulted in him pleading guilty to 12 offences under The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
In another recent case, the manager and director of a kebab and pizza takeaway in Burnley which sold ‘lamb and chicken’ kebabs which were in fact mostly beef, pleaded guilty to Food Safety Act offences in a hearing at Blackburn Magistrates Court.
Waleed Raza and Fazila Wadia, respectively manager and director of the now dissolved company Naafiah Burnley Limited, had previously been advised by Trading Standards after a sample showed meat had been inaccurately labelled. They blamed their meat supplier for a mix-up, but were unable to provide any records or checks.
Raze and Wadia both 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.”
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Content Tags: Updates|Food and Drink|North West
