Issued By
West Yorkshire Trading
Standards Service
As
we approach the Christmas and New Year period, officers from the West Yorkshire
Trading Standards Service will be visiting pubs, clubs and restaurants to take
samples of branded spirit drinks to check they are the genuine item.
Previous
surveys within West Yorkshire have shown that about 10% of spirits have been
substituted by pouring cheaper or inferior drink into brand labelled bottles,
and then selling them to unsuspecting customers at the price of the genuine
article.
During
2001, seven West Yorkshire licensees have been prosecuted, with two more
receiving formal cautions. Fines and costs imposed have ranged from £400 to £2300.
The resulting adverse publicity has obviously had some effect and the incidence
of substitution has been reduced in the last survey to 4.3%.
The
International Federation of Spirit Producers is an association formed by the
main spirit producers specifically to support Trading Standards authorities and
assist in the protection of the brand holders and consumers alike. Philip
Scatchard of the I.F.S.P. commented, “The vast majority of the UK’s
licensees are professional and law abiding, but there are a few bad apples out
there giving the rest of the trade a bad name. We are working closely with
Trading Standards departments to help ensure that customers get what they are
paying for.”
Martin
Wood, Chief Trading Standards Officer for West Yorkshire added, “While the
figures show a significant improvement and that the majority of licensees act
honestly, we do not want to be complacent.
Sampling will continue over Christmas and New Year.
We intend to make product substitution a thing of the past.
The public should be able to trust they are getting what the brand they
are paying for. The penalties for this offence can be significant, not only in
terms of fines, but publicans also risk losing their licences”.
For
further information contact:
Graham
Hebblethwaite, Divisional Manager 0113 2898218
Robert
Unwin, Enforcement Officer 0113 2898226
Steven
Kaye, Principal Officer 0113 2898229