Real Junk Food Project faces prosecution
The Real Junk Food Project, a cafe chain that uses food set for landfill, could face prosecution following an investigation by a trading standards watchdog.
The Leeds-based cafe chain has been accused of selling out-of-date produce by West Yorkshire Trading Standards.
According to the BBC, the WYTS found more than 400 items past their use-by date at the organisation’s warehouse in Pudsey at the Grangefield Industrial Estate.
Project founder Adam Smith said it had made “food unfit for human consumption available to the general public” since 2013.
A letter seen by the BBC asked Smith to attend a formal interview under caution. He could face two months in prison and a £5,000 fine if he is found guilty.
He responded: “[The letter] was claiming that we were making food unfit for human consumption available to the general public, which is true, because that’s what we’ve done since day one when we opened three-and-a-half years ago.
“I’m quite positive about it. Just because it’s the law doesn’t make it right. We can prove that the food is safe for human consumption.
“We’re not going to stop serving food to people that’s expired because it will then go to waste and that’s the reason that we’re here.”
The Real Junk Food Project has 127 cafes in seven countries worldwide. The first was based in Armley, Leeds and has “pay as you feel” cafes in York, Saltaire, Doncaster and Sheffield.
