A UK court has handed a suspended prison sentence to a Ghanaian businessman, Stephen Akuoko who stored fish in unsanitary conditions before selling ready meals to local shops.

Akuoko operated under the name Tribal Foods in Watford, Hertfordshire, supplying ready meals to supermarkets and corner shops for more than three years.

Authorities said the products were sold with excessively long use-by dates and lacked proper ingredient labeling.

The meals were later described as “unfit for human consumption.”

The case came to light after the local council’s environmental health team began investigating Tribal Foods, but struggled to locate the operation

The breakthrough came in October 2024 when a fire broke out at Akuoko’s flat.

Firefighters responding to the incident discovered large quantities of fish stored in a bathtub and on the bathroom floor next to 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.

Michael Coley, prosecuting, told the court that investigators initially encountered difficulty tracking down the business. When officers eventually made contact by phone, Akuoko reportedly reacted aggressively.