Information on Loughborough

Are Your Pies Pukka?

Posted on 16/06/2008
P. Klein

pies in manufacture

Officers from Leicestershire Trading Standards have been checking the authenticity of one of the region’s greatest delicacies. Samples of steak and kidney pies were bought from takeaways displaying the Pukka Pies logo, and tested to make sure they were the real thing. All of the sixteen samples were found to be “Pukka”.

David Bull, Head of Trading Standards for Leicestershire County Council, said, “admittedly this is a slightly unusual exercise, but as a service we are always on the look-out for food that is being sold fraudulently. And after all, we have had great success in the past curbing the sale of counterfeit goods. Why not use that expertise to protect the reputation of one of our most successful local companies?”.

Leicestershire Trading Standards Service samples over a thousand food items every year to ensure that they are as described, and meet any minimum compositional standards. The vast majority are tested by Leicestershire County Council’s Scientific Services at their laboratory in South Wigston, or by their business partners, Staffordshire Scientific Services.

Consumers are also encouraged to report any doubts they have about food they have bought by ringing Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

Background Information

1. Pukka Pies is a privately owned family business and was founded in 1963. They now serve the UK, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Malta, Gibraltar and France.

2. Section 14 of the Food Safety Act 1990, makes it an offence to sell food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded by the purchaser. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Practices Regulations 2008 makes it an offence to give false information likely to cause the average consumer to buy when he would not otherwise have done so. The maximum penalty in each case is an unlimited fine or two years imprisonment.

3. Consumer Direct can be contacted on 08454 04 05 06 or at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk . Complaints for investigation will be passed to Trading Standards.