A Greenford food manufacturer that supplies ready-to-eat fruit and vegetables to trade customers, including airline caterers, has been fined £20,000 after Ealing Council inspectors found major food safety failings.
Gradegold Catering Limited, based at the Kelvin Industrial Estate in Long Drive, pleaded guilty to two offences at Ealing magistrates court earlier this month (5 December 2025). The company admitted failing to implement food safety procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point principles and using labels likely to mislead customers about food quality.
According to the council, an unannounced inspection in October 2024 found that products including lettuce, grapes, melon and mango were labelled with false packing dates and “use by” dates that had been unlawfully extended. The court heard some items were labelled as if they had been packed the following day.
Ready-to-eat foods require strict shelf-life controls to prevent bacteria reaching unsafe levels before the stated “use by” date. The council said chilled ready-to-eat food with a shelf life of five days or more can support the growth of harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes, and that the labelling breaches increased the risk that products could become unsafe before their expiry date.
Gradegold was also ordered to pay more than £7,700 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.
The council said mislabelled food was voluntarily disposed of during the inspection and a follow-up visit found correct labelling in place. The court heard the offences were likely to have arisen from a deliberate breach of the law, and the company had a poor food safety record.
Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, the council’s cabinet member for decent living incomes, said: “We will always take strong action against businesses that ignore the rules and put people at risk. Our food safety team works hard to make sure that resident can trust the food they eat.”
