AN Aberystwyth shop was found to be selling food past its use-by date during an inspection, magistrates have heard.

A trading standards officer found sandwiches and other food items still being sold at Hendre Stores, Waunfawr, despite their use-by date having expired days before.

Silvapathasuntharam Jeyathasan, the proprietor of the shop, pleaded guilty to four food safety offences by offering food for sale that was unsafe on 14 February.

Prosecutor Maggie Hughes said Lawrence Martin, a Ceredigion council trading standards officer, carried out a visit to Hendre Stores on 14 February and in the fridge found sandwiches, a ham and cheese slice and Mattessons Fridge Raiders all on sale, despite being past their use-by date.

Ms Hughes said the use-by date for two chicken and bacon mayonnaise sandwiches and a ham and cheese slice was 10 February, with two packs of Mattessons Fridge Raiders having a use-by date of 12 February and three chicken tikka sandwiches having a use-by date of 13 February.

During an interview, Jeyathasan said he usually moved any food that had gone out of date to the bottom of the fridge so that they could not be bought, but that he hadn’t been able to move the food on that day as a paperboy had not turned up and he had needed to deal with that.

Jeyathasan also said that, while a new member of staff had recently been taken on, that person was still in the process of being trained.

However, Jeyathasan had been the only member of staff in the shop at the time and accepted responsibility for having the food for sale.

Jeyathasan, who represented himself in court, said no out-of-date food had been sold to customers.

He was fined £535 and will pay prosecution costs of £859.51 and a victim surcharge of £54.