A MAJOR supermarket was fined thousands after serving “mouldy pork pies” to customers.

Wm Morrison Supermarket Plc (WMSP) was fined for offering food which was unfit for consumption, poor temperature control of high-risk food and staff wearing dirty protective clothing during a hearing at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on May 25.

Action was taken against the Elvetham Heath branch of the supermarket by Hart District Council (HDC)’s environmental health department.

WMSP pleaded guilty to four offences and was fined £55,000 – plus costs of £14,396.22 and a £120 victim surcharge.

The penalty was reduced from £90,000 due to the submission of an early guilty plea. Proceedings were brought against WMSP following a complaint from a member of the public in February 2016, who said that a pork pie purchased from the branch’s delicatessen counter was found to be contaminated with mould while his wife was eating it.

Upon receipt of the complaint, environmental health officer Nicola Ramsey visited the store and found a further mouldy pork pie for sale in a refrigerated display cabinet, which was above the legal temperature for the safe storage of high-risk food.

In later visits, further breaches of food hygiene legislation were found – including a food handler wearing dirty clothes, including gloves, while handling open food.

The clothing worn should only have been used for loading and unloading lorries and handling waste.

Ms Ramsey said prosecution was a “last resort but necessary given the severity of the offences”.

She added: “It was disappointing that WMSP did not heed previous warnings regarding temperature control and general hygiene standards which ultimately resulted in mouldy food being sold to a vulnerable member of the public.”

Hart District Council is responsible for food safety compliance in more than 700 food premises throughout the district.

During 2016, the council carried out 300 food safety inspections and 170 food complaint investigations during 2016.

Nick Steevens, head of regulatory services at HDC, said he was “delighted at the outcome of the case”.

A spokeswoman for Morrisons apologised for the issues, adding: “Our new management team have made improvements that have restored our Food Hygiene Rating to five, the highest rating available.”