The supermarket says it has now introduced new date checking procedures across all its stores
11:26, 10 Feb 2026Updated 11:37, 10 Feb 2026
Asda has made a major change in store following the fine(Image: Ceri Breeze via Getty Images)
Asda has been fined £500,000 for selling out-of-date food in one of its UK supermarket stores.
Some of the items found in its Barnsley branch in 2024 were more than two weeks out of date, including tubs of hummus that were 16 days past their sell-by.
Pizzas and curries were also found to be out of date, following an investigation by the Barnsley Council Trading Standards team.
Asda pleaded guilty to five offences under the Food Safety Act and was ordered to pay £507,767 in fines and costs on January 29. The supermarket says it has now introduced new date checking procedures across all its stores.
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A Barnsley Trading Standards spokesperson said: “While improvements have been made since these offences, including a new checking system, retraining and increased auditing in the store, the sizeable £100,000 fine per offence sends a clear message that non-compliance never pays.”
Barnsley Council’s public health spokesperson Cllr Wendy Cain added: “We’re committed to keeping our communities safe, a responsibility we take very seriously.
“We expect businesses of all sizes to only sell safe food, and this significant result sends a clear message that we will always put people’s health and safety first, taking action where businesses fail to comply with legislation or respond to warnings.”
An Asda spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that some out-of-date products were found on sale at our Barnsley store in 2024. This fell short of the standards our customers rightly expect and that we hold ourselves to.
“In the time since these products were found, we have introduced a new date code checking process in every Asda store to ensure the freshest products are always available for customers to buy.”
Asda added: “In the time since these products were found, we have introduced a new date code checking process in every Asda store to ensure the freshest products are always available for customers to buy.”
It comes after grocery price inflation eased back to 4% in January, its lowest level since April, according to market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator.
This marks a fall from the 4.3% figure that was recorded in December. Asda sales were down 3.7% on a year earlier, the figure show.
Almost a quarter of shoppers (23%) sought high-protein food and 26% looked for high-fibre products. Sales of cottage cheese were up 50% year on year, bought by 2.8 million households – about 600,000 more than last year.
Sales of fresh fruit and dried pulses were up 6% year on year, alongside fresh fish, up 5%, poultry, up 3%, and chilled yoghurt, up 4%.