Yorkshire brothers sentenced after selling counterfeit cranberry sauce across the country

At Leeds Crown Court on Monday (July 24), Irfan and Mohammed Patel of Dewsbury were given 120 and 100 hours of unpaid work in the community respectively, for selling jars of counterfeit cranberry sauce that were labelled as Abel and Cole’s.

The knock-off sauce was purchased by Irfan Patel acting as a sole trader and was supplied to his brother Mohammed Patel, the Director of Dewsbury-based company, Stock Up Direct Ltd. The business sent over 1,000 jars to a wholesaler who then distributed the product to food businesses around the country, including two in Kirklees.

The brothers’ businesses were operating illegally as neither were registered with the council. This meant they slipped under the radar and weren’t inspected for food hygiene.

The case had been investigated by West Yorkshire Trading Standards and Kirklees Council since December 2020. Officers from the two authorities conducted visits to food businesses supplied in Kirklees and obtained the jars for further examination, as well as paying visits to each of the brothers’ premises.

Irfan’s premises were located at Bretton Park Way, Dewsbury. Irfan reportedly told the council that he had purchased the sauce from another trader and produced an invoice for an untraceable business.

The premises had a warehouse with large quantities of food items. Irfan was unable to provide any documentation to demonstrate that the foods were from lawful sources.

As a result of their unknown origin and potential to be linked to illegal food activities like bringing food destined for waste back into the food chain, the products were ultimately seized and later destroyed.

Officers also visited his brothers’ company, Stock Up Direct Limited, simultaneously. In a subsequent formal interview, Mohammed Patel is reported to have told officers he had never seen any stock that went through the company.

In a joint statement, trading standards manager David Stover and Councillor Naheed Mather, cabinet member for culture and greener Kirklees at Kirklees Council said: “Businesses need to ensure they are registered with the local authority 28 days before beginning to operate. They must have a traceability system in place and to only purchase stock they believe is legitimate by conducting checks.

“Supplying food that is counterfeit could contain anything which, in turn makes the label misleading and can cause serious harm to consumers. The cranberry sauce was also supplied near Christmas when demand is high, posing serious risk.

“Trading Standards and Kirklees Council will continue to take action against any businesses flouting the law. We encourage all businesses to check the legal requirements relating to food businesses, information which is easily accessible through the Food Standards Agency website: http://www.food.gov.uk.”