A Southall food wholesaler which illegally repackaged and labelled milk powder has been hit with a penalty of more than £15,000 following an investigation by Ealing Council.

Ealing Council’s food safety team launched an investigation in April 2013 after receiving information from the Food Standards Agency food fraud unit that TRS Wholesale Co Limited was repackaging powdered milk despite not having legal permission to do so.

Under European Union law, all wholesale businesses require specific approval before repacking products of animal origin to ensure the origin of the items can be traced and monitored by food safety officers.

The food safety officers also found that the packaging of the powdered milk was incorrectly labelled with an identification mark of another business, which created the impression that the product had been packed at an approved establishment.

A Remedial Action Notice which put a stop to the illegal repackaging was issued immediately by the officers. More than 3000 kilograms of the product was recalled and removed from shelves.

The Food Standards Agency issued an alert to local authorities in England and to other countries in Europe where the product had been distributed.

The company pleaded guilty in court, in March, to two charges of breaching food hygiene regulations. On Thursday, 7 April 2014, Ealing Magistrate’s Court fined the company £3,800 for each offence and ordered it to pay the council’s costs of £8,178.40 plus a victim surcharge of £120, bringing the total penalty to £15,898.40.

Executive director for housing and regeneration, Pat Hayes, said: "Our food safety team carries out all types of inspections to ensure businesses are complying with food regulation laws and to avoid risking public health. The council played its part in responding to national intelligence, taking swift action to safeguard food safety and provide the Food Standards Agency with information to alert consumers throughout Europe."

"It is essential for businesses to obtain permission for all types of work with food because our officers need to be confident that the origin of the food is safe and that correct procedures are being followed. This is a good court result and I hope it serves as an example to other businesses that may not be following the rules.