Tesco fined £7.56m for selling out-of-date food in Birmingham

The supermarket giant was given the penalty at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Monday

Tesco has been fined £7.56m for selling out-of-date food at three stores in Birmingham.

Offending items were found at two Tesco Express stores, in the city centre and Bournville, and a Tesco Metro in Bristol Road South.

The fine was handed down after Tesco Stores Ltd admitted 22 breaches of the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations, which happened between 2016 and 2017.

Tesco said it took "immediate action" to rectify problems.

The grocery company was given the penalty at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Monday and further ordered to pay prosecution costs of £95,500, the city council said.

The prosecution by its environmental health department came after complaints were received by the local authority about food being sold past its use-by date, triggering an investigation.

Food inspectors visited three of the company's food retail premises in Birmingham

Food inspectors visited three of the company's city food retail premises. The Tesco Metro in Bristol Road South has since been re-branded under Tesco's discount chain, Jack's.

Date-checking for the firm is now externally approved by Hertfordshire County Council because the company's Welwyn Garden City head office is located in that local authority's area.

• Latest news from the West Midlands

A Tesco spokesman said: "We're disappointed that a small number of out-of-date products were found on sale in three stores in 2016/17.

"The safety of our customers is always our priority and these incidents are not representative of the high standards of safety and quality we expect in Tesco stores.

"We took immediate action to address this at the time and we want to reassure our customers that we have robust procedures in place to make sure that this doesn't happen."

The grocery company was also ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge.