Tonnes of meat that was branded unfit for human consumption has been seized by health inspectors and a business owner has been jailed for breaking food safety laws.

Sukru Ahmet, 60, East Rochester Way, Sidcup, was prosecuted by Sevenoaks District Council after inspectors found he had been running a business in which unmarked meat was sold without information such as a use-by date or where it had come from.

The business, UK Chicken Doner & Poultry Ltd, based in Maidstone Road, Swanley, supplied meat to takeaways and food manufacturers across the south east and London.

Today (Thursday) Ahmet appeared at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to 21 charges of breaking food safety laws. He was jailed for four months and ordered to pay £53,760 in fine and costs.

Following the hearing, Cllr Matthew Dickins, the council’s cabinet member for direct and trading services, said: “This is one of the most serious breaches of food safety laws the council has ever come across. Consumers must have confidence that their meat is prepared in a safe, approved environment and is fit for them to eat.

“Mr Sukru Ahmet and his company had no regard for the food safety laws that exist to protect the public. The substantial fine and custodial sentence handed down by the court demonstrates the seriousness of the case.”

Last year 2016 the council seized 7.76 tonnes of meat and Ahmet was ordered to stop trading.

Inspectors found that meat was ready to be sold which had passed its use-by-date or did not have clear dates on it. In addition, meat had not been marked according to where it had been produced or processed and there was no information about dates the meat had been frozen.

Inspectors also found a concrete mixer had been adapted into a food mixer.

Sevenoaks Council say a warrant was granted to seize documents and an investigation found that Ahmet had been trading on the site under the name of United Meat and Poultry Suppliers from November 2014 until December 2015 without approval.

He was misleading customers by placing inaccurate labels as to where meat was processed and meat had been placed on the market when it had not been handled by an approved premises, says the council.

The charges included one offence against Ahmet while trading as United Meat and Poultry Suppliers for failure to notify the council that the company was carrying out the production, processing and distribution of food.

Ten of the charges were against UK Chicken Doner & Poultry Ltd for operating without approval, placing unsafe food on the market, misleading labelling and failing to mark and keep records of food to ensure it is traceable.

Ten other offences were against Ahmet as a director of UK Chicken Doner & Poultry Ltd for the same offences because he either consented, connived or was negligent in them.

Ahmet was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £23,760.