Delhi High Court: Delhi High Court opposes sale of expired food products | Delhi News

New Delhi: Delhi High Court increased concerns about sales expired food products It is repackaged, rebranded with new expiration dates and reintroduced to the market. It was stated that consumers should not be caused to consume “added” food items unknowingly.
At a recent hearing, the court emphasized that the sale of expired products cannot be commercially permitted. “People cannot have food with additives in Delhi. Give us suggestions on how this can be resolved,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela told the authorities while hearing a public interest litigation initiated following several instances of expired products being repackaged with new expiration dates.
Advocate Shwetasree Mazumdar, who assisted the court as amicus curiae, suggested that manufacturers could create a QR code for all packaged food products that would allow the original expiration dates to be tracked. He stated that although legislation exists to address this issue, penalties are not deterrent enough and should be reviewed to strengthen enforcement.
“Food operators should be directed to mark all food products with a unique alphanumeric code or an identifiable QR code. FSSAI delegation via cross-reference to a central database. “This will reveal a product’s batch number and expiration date immediately and on the spot to eliminate testing and sampling to determine whether expiration dates and other information on the label have been falsified.”
The court asked officials to submit recommendations on how they plan to improve sample collection and testing. It also directed the Delhi Police to submit a fresh status report on the matter and requested that some alleged counterfeiters, who were found to have sold expired chocolates by repackaging them, should be present in court for the next hearing.
The high court had earlier issued notice to the central government, the Delhi government. Food Safety and the Standards Authority of India and Delhi Police are seeking their answers.