A Somerset poultry farmer has been ordered to pay out over £50,000 after pleading guilty to faking salmonella testing certificates.
Stuart Perkins, of SG Perkins Ltd, age 38 from Radstock, received the substantial fine at Bath Magistrates Court on 3 July.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it had found evidence of traceability concerns and that Mr Perkins had falsified salmonella testing certificates.
This meant birds had been slaughtered for the food chain without proof they were free from disease.
The FSA acted to manage the potential food safety risk by ensuring products with traceability concerns were removed from the market.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) supported the investigations, monitoring the welfare of the poultry on site and collecting official Salmonella samples.
Mr Perkins pleaded guilty to various offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and the Animal Health Act 1981.
He was sentenced to a fine of £5,000 for each FSA offence, £3,500 for each local authority offence, costs amounting to £21,810, plus a victim surcharge of £2,000, which came to a total of £50,830.
Andrew Quinn, head of the FSA's National Food Crime Unit, welcomed the substantial fine as "it shows the serious nature of faking documents and jeopardising food safety".
"This should act as a deterrent to anyone considering taking dangerous short cuts and breaching food safety and hygiene law," he added.
“Together, we are stronger in the fight against food crime, and we continue to work with partners to ensure food is safe and help ensure that consumers are protected.”
Fakir Mohamed Osman, of South West Trading Standards Service, said that authorities took these kind of breaches very seriously.
"The prevention of salmonella programme is there for a reason, to safeguard the public. Producers suspected of not carrying out the required testing will be investigated.
“The defendant’s actions presented a real risk to public health, and I am pleased that, thanks to our collaborative efforts with the Food Standards Agency, we were able to take action.”
