A Blaenavon company has been fined £3,000, after admitting four food standards offences at Cwmbran Magistrates Court.
Torfaen council prosecuted Vin Sullivan Foods Ltd, following a routine inspection by trading standards officers at the company's premises on Gilchrist Industrial Estate in June 2009.
More than 1,500 food items were inspected with 106 found to be offending food items, including mozzarella cheese four years past its use by date. The mozzarella cheese had a use by date of June 19, 2005, while some peppered pastrami had its use by date altered from May 5, 2009 to October 27, 2009.
Vin Sullivan Food Ltd's managing director John Sullivan pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to having food past its use by date and having food on which the use by date had been removed or altered.
He also admitted having food that was not marked with an appropriate durability indication and having food that did not have a legible durability indication.
The company was fined a total of £3,000, £750 for each of the four offences proceeded against and ordered to pay £18,000 costs.
The executive member for planning, housing and public protection, Councillor Gwyneira Clark, said: "This company was unable to demonstrate that they operated a robust system to prevent food items entering the food chain and therefore these food products which were in their possession presented a potential food risk to consumers. Torfaen council has a legal responsibility to protect the public and this prosecution sends out the right message to all wholesalers and retailers.
"Consumers expect to buy food that is safe to eat and of the quality demanded and use-by dates play an important role in this. They are applied to perishable products that support the growth of bacteria, so if the use-by date is exceeded these bacteria may grow to levels that present a risk to the health of the consumer.
"This successful prosecution is another example of the tireless work of Torfaen's public protection department in helping to safeguard the health of the public and protect people from unsafe food products."