Trading Standards officers in Kent have carried out a series of targeted raids and seized thousands of illicit tobacco products. Working in partnership with HMRC, Thanet District Council, Folkestone and Hythe District Council and Kent Police the raids took place on retail premises in Thanet and Folkestone as part of the ongoing national Operation CeCe.…
Trading Standards officers from KCC, supported by Kent Police and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, swooped on a bootfair on Sunday (24 July) in a crackdown on the sale of counterfeit goods. Officers and brand representatives targeted stalls at Pedham Place, Swanley, seizing 1,579 counterfeit items including tobacco, clothing, watches, sunglasses and furniture. If the products had…
Kent Trading Standards is urging the county’s shoppers to shop safely online ahead of the festive break. More than 28,000 customers were conned out of their money while internet shopping last Christmas, losing £15.4 million to copies of legitimate websites, or completely fictional ones, say Action Fraud. Around £4 billion is also lost to the…
Bird keepers are now legally required to keep their flocks and pet birds indoors as government steps up efforts to limit the spread of Avian Influenza. Commonly known as bird flu, the disease circulates naturally in wild birds so when they migrate to the UK in winter they can pass the disease on to poultry…
Fireworks season is well underway and Kent County Council’s Trading Standards Team is busy helping to keep communities safe. As well as checking and advising retailers on selling and storing fireworks safely, Trading Standards officers also respond to reports of people selling fireworks illegally, most often from private homes, the backs of vans or anonymously…
More pre-packaged food like takeaway sandwiches and salads will need their full ingredients listed when new allergen labelling rules come into force at the end of this week – and businesses need to be ready, Kent Trading Standards reminded today. From Friday 1st October, Natasha’s Law will also require places that make and sell pre-packed…
Nearly 35,000 illegal cigarettes have been seized by KCC Trading Standards officers in a series of visits to shops in Maidstone as part of Operation CeCe, a National Trading Standards initiative in partnership with HMRC. Kent Police Community Safety Unit and Maidstone Borough Council’s Community Protection Team supported the initiative across two days of action.…
A Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) has been launched in Deal to highlight the risks of underage drinking and improve the health and wellbeing of local young people. CAPs are made up of partnerships between local authorities, police, schools, retailers, neighbourhood groups and health providers, working together to prevent alcohol-related harm to young people and improve…
Kent businesses needing help to navigate new trade rules will be able to put their queries directly to experts – including Kent County Council Trading Standards. Hosted by the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, Tuesday’s EU Transition: Ask the Experts’ free zoom webinar, 10.30am-12.30pm, is designed to be highly interactive with the content of the…
A Dartford shopkeeper has been given a suspended prison term for selling illegal and counterfeit tobacco. Ali Anwari, the owner of East Hill Groceries, appeared for sentence at Maidstone Crown Court . KCC Trading Standards prosecuted Anwari for three offences of possessing for supply tobacco product which did not have the correct health warning labelling…
Neil Butcher of Kent Trading Standards has won a national award for his work tackling underage drinking. He received the Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAP) Award for Outstanding Contribution from Craig Mackinlay MP for South Thanet at the Westminster launch of the CAP 2017 Impact Report on October 10. Craig Mackinlay said: “I am delighted that…
A man who sold counterfeit goods from a relative’s address in Folkestone through Facebook has appeared in court, following a KCC Trading Standards investigation. Richard Friend appeared before Canterbury Magistrates’ Court (on Tuesday 20 September) charged with14 Trade Mark offences and admitted selling counterfeit goods through his Facebook page. The Trading Standards investigation was launched…