Business sold ‘lamb kebabs’ – but what was inside was very different | UK | News
A Chelmsford kebab producer has been fined £500,000 for selling products labeled as lamb and containing very little lamb meat. WalesOnline reports. Kismet Kebabs Ltd pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court. The company was also ordered to pay £259,298 in litigation costs.
Prosecutor Lee Reynolds said the firm had been producing kebabs and supplying them to takeaways and restaurants in the UK with false labels for a “significant period”. “Most of what was described as lamb was actually skin and fat,” he told the court. Mr Reynolds said the company “regularly and knowingly purchased goat, lamb fat, hides, mutton and sheep”. [sheep meat]The court also heard that Essex County Council had received complaints from authorities in England about the firm’s labeling and meat content. The investigation began after Swansea Council trading standards officers found samples of kebabs that did not match the meat content stated on their labels.
Further testing and a multi-agency review at the firm’s Chelmsford factory revealed “multiple concerns” regarding production, packaging and labeling.
The court heard recipe cards showed very little lamb was used in products sold as lamb kebabs.
The invoices also state that the company purchased very little lamb meat, but large quantities of fat, skin and low-quality meat products.
Defending lawyer Stuart Jessop said the company had been “blindsided wholesale” but had since made significant changes.
He told the court the business had made “very little financial gain” from the crime and argued it would “be of no use to anyone” if it was forced to close.
Sentencing, Judge Huw Rees said fraudulent activity was “endemic” at the company throughout the period of the crime.
He said Kısmet Kebap had engaged in “significant fraud” over a long period of time.
The judge also acknowledged the significant progress the firm had made since the crimes were revealed.
He said the case was one in which it was difficult to determine the level of harm caused.
Kısmet Kebabs Ltd was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay £259,298 in investigation costs.
The company was given four years to pay the full amount.
Kismet Kebabs Ltd previously pleaded guilty before the case returned for sentencing.
