Report

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court raised serious concerns about selling expired food products, reintroduced into the market through repackaging with new expiry dates. The court emphasized that sellers should not compel consumers to consume “adulterated” food items. “No one should be permitted to sell expired goods; this cannot be considered a legitimate business,” declared the bench, led by Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.

Concerns over the Sale of Repackaged Expired Products 

The court sought suggestions during a hearing on a public interest litigation it had initiated following reports of expired products being sold with deceptive expiry dates. Acting as amicus curiae, Advocate Shwetasree Mazumdar proposed implementing a QR code system on all packaged food items to track their original expiry dates. She observed that, although existing legislation addresses these issues, the penalties for violations lack sufficient deterrence and need revision.

The Amicus Submissions 

The amicus submitted, “Food business operators be directed to mark all food products with a unique alphanumeric code or a QR code that is identifiable by an FSSAI representative by cross-reference to a centralized database, which will reveal the batch number and expiry date of a product immediately and on-site, to obviate testing and sampling to ascertain whether expiry dates and other information on the label has been tampered with.”

She further emphasized that a QR code system would align with the Union Health Ministry’s mandatory tracking requirements for pharmaceutical products, enabling swift action against violators. The court also pressed authorities to enhance sample collection and testing protocols and instructed the Delhi Police to provide a new status report. Additionally, the bench summoned alleged counterfeiters—identified for selling expired chocolates through repackaging—to appear at the next hearing.

The bench warned the counsel for the alleged counterfeiters, “You cannot be selling expired food items. This cannot be a business. Ask your clients to remain personally present in court next time.” Previously, the court had issued notices to the central government, Delhi government, FSSAI, and the Delhi Police seeking their responses.

The single judge determined that the case presented a serious public health risk related to food products. In its January order, the division bench stated, “From the order dated December 19, 2023, issued by the single judge, it is clear that there exists a coordinated and systematic mechanism by which expired products are being repackaged and rebranded with new expiry dates before being introduced into the market.”

Hershey Counterfeiters

This public interest litigation arose after Justice Prathiba M. Singh referred the matter for judicial review while presiding over a civil suit filed by the Hershey Company against counterfeiters who had sold expired chocolates. She observed that the counterfeiters falsely presented their products as authentic Hershey’s items.

Source: The Law advice