Ica Maxi in Borås faces criticism after a customer fell ill from consuming mislabeled fish. An inspection revealed the store had altered expiration dates to extend shelf life, a practice deemed illegal by local authorities. The store promises corrective measures to prevent future incidents.
Ica Maxi in Borås Under Fire for Selling Expired Fish
Ica Maxi in Borås Under Fire for Selling Expired Fish
Ica Maxi in Borås has been caught manipulating expiration dates. This came to light after a customer fell ill from consuming an outdated fillet of pollock, which had been mislabeled by the store.
– It was human error, says Ida Hilmersson, business area manager at Ica Maxi in Borås, to P4 Sjuhärad.
On July 9, a customer ate pollock from the fish counter at Ica Maxi. The fish was labeled with a best-before date of July 10.
The customer suffered food poisoning and contacted the Environmental Department in Borås municipality. It was then that the date manipulation was discovered.
During an inspection shortly thereafter, it was found that the fish had a best-before date of July 8, but the staff at Ica Maxi had extended the shelf life to sell the fish the next day.
Three-Day-Old Oysters
When questioned by the environmental inspector, the staff could not explain how date labeling worked or how they ensured the quality of the fish in the fish counter. Staff also admitted to routinely extending the best-before dates on fish and seafood.
This is illegal, says environmental inspector Thomas Widholm.
– It is not allowed to extend the best-before date. It is about ensuring that customers can always make informed choices. However, the store can sell a product past its date as long as they can guarantee the product is fresh, he says.
In the store, the environmental inspector also found three-day-old oysters that were mislabeled. The oysters were marked with "Eat soon," in the same way as the pollock that caused food poisoning.
"Deeply Sorry"
According to the store, the pollock incident is not indicative of systematic date manipulation in the store.
– It is human error. Someone simply read 25/7, thinking 25 was the year. The person in question is deeply sorry and finds it very distressing, says Ida Hilmersson, business area manager at Ica Maxi in Borås to P4 Sjuhärad.
The store will now take corrective actions.
– From now on, we will have two people checking dates to avoid misreading. This is a one-time occurrence and has never happened in my 15 years at Ica Maxi in Borås.
If the incorrect date labeling continues, the store will have to pay a fine of 40,000 kronor each time it is discovered by the Environmental Department.