DUNNES STORES HAS paid out over €30,000 for selling baby formula that was nine years out of date. 

The company was prosecuted by the HSE’s National Environmental Health Service (NEHS) for breaching EU food safety laws after selling the formula at its store on Trimgate Street in Navan, Co Meath.

The matter, which was first reported by The Journal last February, was heard at Navan District Court in January. 

The court heard that a father of a five-week-old baby bought thirteen 200ml bottles of the Aptamil ready-to-feed infant formula from the store on 8 February last year.

The five-week-old baby was fed one of the bottles of formula from a sterile bottle two days later. The baby refused to drink the bottle and later vomited. 

The baby’s father found the formula to be “discoloured” and when he checked the date on the formula bottle, it read 9 June 2015. Another bottle was dated 3 February 2024.

Baby formula has an unopened shelf life from manufacture to expiration date of between 18 and 24 months.

Out-of-date formula loses its nutritional value, which can lead to babies not getting enough calories or nutrients. Very out-of-date formula can contain harmful bacteria in some cases.

Navan District Court heard that the five-week-old baby was initially brought to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan but was later brought to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

The court heard that the baby did not need treatment but was kept overnight for observation. 

HSE Environmental Health officers visited the Dunnes Stores branch after the incident but found no out-of-date baby formula on the shelves. 

The officers informed the deputy manager of the store that complaints had been made about the formula and a stock check was subsequently carried out.

A spokesperson for the FSAI confirmed to The Journal at the time that an investigation was being carried out into how expired products were on sale. 

On 15 February 2024, the store manager told the HSE that he had told Dunnes Stores head office about the complaint. However, the court heard that Dunnes Stores failed to notify the FSAI about the breach of regulations.

Counsel for Dunnes Stores told the court that the company had strict systems for checking food stocks and that it was a complete mystery to them how the out-of-date formula had remained on the shelves. 

The court was told that the company also had a policy of notifying the FSAI, but that it had not been done as it should have been in this case. 

The court was told that the company had no previous convictions and that it had taken the case very seriously, with the policy for checking stock having been amended and improved as a result. 

Dunnes Stores agreed to pay €31,762.71, consisting of €23,423 for the cost of the HSE investigation and €8,289 in legal costs.

Dunnes Stores also agreed to pay €10,000 to charity. A conviction was not recorded.

Notice of the fine and charitable donation having been paid was published by the FSAI on Wednesday.

With reporting from Paul Murphy