A UK court has given a suspended prison sentence to a Ghanaian businessman, Stephen Akuoko, after he was found guilty of storing fish in highly unsanitary conditions and selling contaminated ready meals.
Akuoko operated under the name Tribal Foods in Watford, Hertfordshire, where he supplied ready-made meals to supermarkets and local shops for over three years. Authorities said the products were sold with misleadingly long expiry dates and lacked proper ingredient labelling, with some later deemed unfit for human consumption.
The case began when the local council’s environmental health team launched an investigation but initially struggled to trace the business.
The operation was eventually uncovered in October 2024 after a fire broke out at Akuoko’s residence. Firefighters responding to the incident discovered large quantities of fish stored in a bathtub and on the bathroom floor beside a toilet, raising serious hygiene concerns.
Akuoko later pleaded guilty to two food safety offences at St Albans Crown Court. He was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, and banned from running any food business for five years.
During the trial, prosecutor Michael Coley told the court that investigators had difficulty locating the business at first. When officers eventually reached Akuoko by phone, he reportedly responded aggressively.
