A pack of lies: Racket selling expired food products busted in Delhi

Seven people were arrested and 43,762 kg of expired food products – 14,665 litres of beverages, 6,047 kg of snacks, chocolates, biscuits, wafers, candies and chips, and 23,050 kg of sauces such as ketchup, vinegar and mayonnaise – were recovered.

Delhi Police on Tuesday busted a racket that imported expired food products of international brands and sold them in the domestic market after tampering with expiry dates, labels and barcodes, seizing nearly 44,000 kg of food products worth about ₹4.3 crore, officials said.

The operation followed a tip-off received by the crime branch’s cyber cell.

Seven people were arrested and 43,762 kg of expired food products – 14,665 litres of beverages, 6,047 kg of snacks, chocolates, biscuits, wafers, candies and chips, and 23,050 kg of sauces such as ketchup, vinegar and mayonnaise – were recovered. Police said several of the seized items included baby food and other consumables, posing a serious risk to public health.

“These expired food products were being sold through major retail chains, shopping malls and e-commerce platforms across India. This racket posed a grave threat to consumers,” said special commissioner of police (crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastava.

The operation followed a tip-off received by the crime branch’s cyber cell. Raids were conducted at multiple locations in Pahari Dheeraj and Faiz Ganj in Delhi’s Sadar Bazar, where shops and godowns were found stocked with expired international food products. Officials from the Delhi government’s food safety department were called in to assist during the searches.

Police identified the alleged mastermind as Atal Jaiswal, 54. The other arrested accused were Shiv Kumar (40), Bishwajit Dhara (25), Vinod (43), Arun Kumar (30), Vijay Kant (50) and Shamim (30).

Among the seized items were biscuits and bakery products of leading brands such as Oreo, Biscoff, McVities, Hello Panda Meiji, Weetabix and Kellogg’s. Beverages and drinks from brands including Fanta, Arizona, Mountain Dew, Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, Snapple and Lipton were also recovered, along with coffee products of Starbucks, Costa and Nescafe. Police seized sauces and condiments of Heinz, Hellmann’s, Lea & Perrins, Kikkoman, Bachan’s and Kewpie, besides chocolates of Nutella, Lindt, Lindor, Ferrero Rocher, Galaxy, Cadbury and Feastables.

Candies and confectionery such as Starburst, Skittles, Chupa Chups, Ice Breakers and Werther’s Original were also found, along with Pringles, Lays Stax, Cheetos Mini, Old El Paso products, Heinz Beanz and other packaged foods, said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Harsh Indora.

Explaining the modus operandi, Indora said Jaiswal procured near-expiry international food consignments at throwaway prices through Mumbai-based wholesale agents sourcing goods from the UK, the US, Dubai and other countries. By the time the consignments reached India, most products had expired or become unfit for consumption.

“Instead of destroying them as required by law, the accused ‘re-manufactured’ the products by changing manufacturing and expiry dates, altering labels, affixing fake barcodes and MRPs, and repackaging them in fresh-looking wrappers,” Indora said. The recovery of printing, sealing and date-altering machinery confirmed the existence of a full-fledged illegal repackaging unit, he said.