Posted on Wednesday 9th October 2024
Photos of some of the seized items
Trading Standards officers at Staffordshire County Council have seized a large quantity of illegal foods and drinks, vapes and illicit tobacco worth more than £8000.
Officers seized the goods from a shop in Leek on Friday 4 October.
More than 750 items of Imported American candy and drinks containing unauthorised substances were seized along with 4 kg of illicit Tobacco, 5,240 Cigarettes and 88 illegal Vapes.
Products confiscated included Mountain Dew, Dubble Bubble, Jolly Rancher gummies and hard candy, all containing ingredients unauthorised in the UK, such as mineral oil, bleached flour or colourants. Many of the soft drinks seized contain EDTA, known to be linked to kidney failure.
A secondary operation in the same week saw officers inspecting vehicles for non-compliant foods on some of the county’s key roads including the M6. During this activity multiple items of unlabelled meat and foods, with a lack of traceability and believed to be imported were seized.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member responsible for Trading Standards at Staffordshire County Council, said:
"Making sure imported food products being sold in stores around Staffordshire are safe and labelled correctly is an important part of our Trading Standards work.
“The demand for food containing unauthorised food ingredients and illicit goods like non-compliant vapes and illicit tobacco can be extremely dangerous to people’s health. They are also closely linked to organised crime and helps fund their operations and affect legitimate traders. We are also seeing more and more illegal items being sold on social media websites and marketplaces, so removing more than £8,000 from the streets is a great result for the team.
“ We have unfortunately seen the fatal consequences for some people where allergens are not declared in food and the team works hard to ensure that businesses are aware of their obligations regarding food safety and traceability.”
Since 2022, Trading Standards officers in Staffordshire have seized almost 5000 items of food with unauthorised ingredients, 610,000 cigarettes, over 25,000 vapes and 301 kg of hand rolling tobacco. The seizures have a total retail value of more than £720,000.
People can report the sale of non-compliant foods and illegal goods online at Trading Standards Report It - Staffordshire County Council or on the confidential helpline on 01785330356.