TWO Bolton brothers were fined a total of £28,000 after 40 tons of out-of-date food, some of it seven years old, was found at their cold storage and distribution company.

The food was found at their Heywood based premises during a Health Department investigation codenamed Operation Aberdeen.

The company Giromondo Ltd, of Italia House, Green Lane, Heywood, and its two directors John Joseph Manfredi, aged 42, of Rutherford Drive, Over Hulton, and his brother, Paul Manfredi, aged 35, of Kingsbury Avenue, Heaton, were also ordered to pay costs of £6,548 by Rochdale magistrates.

They admitted five offences of breaching the food labelling regulations, one offence of failing to undertake a food safety risk analysis and one offence of food not carrying required temperature indicators.

After the hearing the brother's solicitor Mr David Chad said they would be appealing against the fine.

Mr Peter Horgan, for Rochdale Council, said Operation Aberdeen had been centred on a Derbyshire firm and inspectors visited Giromondo as part of their inquiries. They ordered cold stores to be sealed after finding 52 pallets of meat products containing out-of-date food.

Mr Horgan said: "Had it got into the human food chain it could have been consumed by 400,000 people in the region."

Mr Chad said Giromondo was not the target of Operation Aberdeen and the directors had given help to inspectors. Nor was there any intention that the food should get into the food chain.

The company, which started in 1991, had acted as a food storage depot and assisted in distribution.

Mr Chad added: "Everything was dealt with by hand and was therefore more open to human error."

The directors now had a computer system and had refurbished the premises.

Also before court, admitting two charges of storing bacon and turkey meats with inappropriate labelling, was

Stephen Bardsley, aged 48, of Redisher Croft, Holcombe Brook, Ramsbottom. He was given a two year conditional discharge with costs of £3,500. Bardsley ran Bury Bacon Company and used the Heywood premises for storage.