Bengaluru’s food safety inspectors have made headlines by seizing Rs 1.38 crore worth of expired and misbranded products (Representative image)
BENGALURU: Food safety officials in Bengaluru seized expired and incorrectly labelled food products worth Rs 1.38 crore and medicines worth around Rs 4 lakh during inspections of dark stores and storage facilities operated by online delivery platforms, officials said on Monday. The inspections were carried out by the Food Safety and Drugs Administration following directions from Health Minister U T Khader under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. At Amazon’s BLR6 facility at Hitech Defence and Aerospace Park in Devanahalli, food products worth Rs 14 lakh with incorrect or inadequate labelling and expired food products worth Rs 10 lakh were seized. At Amazon’s BLR7 facility in Anekal taluk, officials seized food products worth Rs 19 lakh with incorrect or inadequate labelling and expired food products worth Rs 13 lakh.
Officials checked food products sold through online and e-commerce platforms for mandatory labelling details, including the date of manufacture, expiry date and shelf life, as well as compliance with other food safety standards. The department also detected expired food products at Saptha Bazaar in HBR Layou following a complaint that the establishment was purchasing groceries, milk, vegetables, curd and other food products from online delivery agencies and reselling expired items.