Report

A consumer court in Mumbai has ordered Britannia Industries Ltd and a Churchgate-based chemist shop to pay a woman ₹1.5 lakh as compensation after she discovered a live worm inside a packet of Britannia biscuits. The woman, a resident of Mira Road, bought the Good Day biscuit pack from a chemist shop at Churchgate station in 2019. After eating a few biscuits, she found a live worm in one, which caused her nausea, vomiting, and mental distress.  She preserved the contaminated biscuit and submitted it to the Municipal Food Laboratory of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which confirmed the presence of foreign matter in its August 2019 report.

Commission Slams Breach of Consumer Trust

On June 27, the South Mumbai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ruled that the sale of a contaminated biscuit was a grave breach of consumer trust and a violation of food safety and consumer protection laws. The commission also directed Britannia Industries and the chemist to jointly pay ₹25,000 in litigation costs, acknowledging the mental agony, harassment, and physical discomfort the woman suffered.

Manufacturer and Chemist Ordered to Compensate

Britannia denied responsibility, arguing that the woman did not produce the wrapper or batch number to trace the biscuit to its manufacturing unit and claiming it maintained high-quality standards. The chemist, Ashok M Shah, also denied any complaint and stated he only sold sealed products. However, the commission concluded that the live worm proved contamination and defect, especially since Britannia did not challenge the BMC’s food analyst report.

Source: The Indian Express