People in Stone are being urged to take extra care when buying Easter sweets and festive food in the run up to the bank holiday weekend.
Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards team has issued a warning over products that may contain banned or unauthorised ingredients, or fail to meet UK labelling rules. The concern centres on food sold through informal routes, including social media platforms, pop up shops, markets and unverified online retailers.
For local Stone families, it is a simple message, check before you buy.
Officers say they are seeing more food products with non compliant labelling, missing allergen information and ingredients that are not authorised for sale in the UK. Some items may also use misleading or counterfeit branding, making them look like familiar products when they do not meet the required standards.
That could mean an ingredients list is missing. It could mean allergen details are not clearly shown in English. It could also mean there is not enough traceability information on the packaging, making it harder to know exactly what the product contains or where it has come from.
With Easter shopping now under way, the warning is particularly relevant for parents, grandparents and carers picking up sweets and treats for children.
Anthony Screen, cabinet member for community safety and resilience at Staffordshire County Council, said,
“Keeping people safe is our priority and we want families to enjoy Easter safely.
“These foods can look harmless, but many bypass essential checks that protect consumers. Products containing unauthorised ingredients or undeclared allergens can be extremely dangerous, especially for children or anyone with food allergies.
“If a food item does not have clear English labelling, including an ingredient list and allergen information, our advice is simple, do not buy it and do not eat it.”
The council is urging shoppers to buy only from reputable retailers or established online sellers, and to take a close look at the packaging before parting with any money.
If labels are not in English, or key details are missing, the product is unlikely to comply with UK law. Shoppers are also being advised to be wary of heavily discounted items and unfamiliar brands, especially when they are being sold through social media by sellers who are not clearly operating as legitimate food businesses.
Stone is a town where local markets, independent traders and seasonal events all play a big part in community life, so it is worth being clear that this is a general public safety warning, not a suggestion that local businesses are doing anything wrong. The point from Trading Standards is that buyers should know what to look for, particularly when a product is being sold outside the usual trusted shops and supermarket shelves.
Suspicious products or sellers can be reported to Trading Standards.
For anyone managing allergies in the family, that extra check at the label could make all the difference.
Anyone who wants to report dangerous products being sold in Staffordshire should do so by contacting Trading Standards Confidential on 01785 330356 or online at Trading Standards Report It.
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