A London retailer has been fined £4,365 for selling caviar of an unknown source as top quality beluga along with food hygiene offences.
Kensington Environmental Health Officers first became suspicious of the quality of the Caviar being sold at the patisserie following a complaint that caviar bought at a discounted price of £80 was ‘revolting’ and ‘did not look right’. The council also became concerned following the test purchase of beluga Iranian caviar for £200.
The court was told that the shop had no documentation confirming the source of nine tins worth an estimated £2,000 being sold as Iranian and Russian caviar. In his defence the owner claimed a supplier left the tins as samples with no documentation.
The owner was fined £2,000 for selling untraceable caviar and a further £1,250 after pleading guilty to food hygiene offences covering dirt, disrepair and a failure to adopt a documented food hygiene system. The court also ordered the owner to pay £900 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
A local Environmental Health officer, said: ‘This caviar was not traceable which means that there is a possibility that it may have come through the extensive black market that exists. The fish, which can take from six to 25 years to reach sexual maturity, are cut open and killed for their eggs.’