Swiggy Instamart raided in Bengaluru, Health Min Khader urges public to check expiry dates before purchase

Bengaluru, Sep 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka Health Department officials on Tuesday raided a Swiggy Instamart warehouse here as part of an intensified crackdown on the storage and sale of expired food products and medicines, even as Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader urged people to check expiry dates before purchasing food and medicines.

The raid was part of a wider enforcement drive by the Food Safety Department and Drug Safety Department across Bengaluru and surrounding areas.

Further details of the raids are awaited.

Meanwhile, Minister Khader, addressing the media here, said food and medicines worth around Rs 3 crore had been seized across the state in the last one week, including expired products and medicines allegedly stored and relabelled for sale.

He urged consumers to remain vigilant while purchasing food, medicines and other products.

"I appeal to people to check the expiry date before purchasing any product. Even if you find a small clue or something suspicious, please report it, because it can lead to uncovering a much larger issue," he said.

Khader said the department had introduced QR codes and barcodes to help consumers verify products and urged social activists to create awareness among the public by disseminating information about the system in public places.

“I appeal to social activists to take the QR codes and barcodes to the public and create awareness. They should come forward and help strengthen the system,” Khader said.

He said continuous inspections and public participation were essential to prevent expired and mislabelled food and medicines from reaching consumers through online and offline channels.

The minister said officials had found medicines worth around Rs 45 lakh at dark stores in Hoskote and alleged that some of the products had been relabelled. The seized products have been taken into custody by the authorities, and further investigation is underway.

About the action against the so-called ‘peptide party’, Khader said he had received information through social media about the proposed event and immediately brought it to the notice of the Commissioner of the department.

"Our officials also tried to register online by posing as customers to find out more about the event, but they were not allowed to register. The organisers were selectively allowing people to participate," he said.

After the department failed to register for the event despite making repeated attempts, officials issued notices to the organisers and summoned them for questioning. Khader said the organisers subsequently cancelled the event after being warned about the legal consequences.

However, the department continued its inquiry even after the cancellation. According to Khader, the organisers told officials that the event was intended to introduce people to new products in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sectors, including food and nutraceutical products.

When officials questioned them about the source of the products, they reportedly said that some of the items were supplied through Amazon dark stores.

Following the information, Food Safety Department officials conducted inspections and raids at the facilities concerned and seized medicines and other products worth several lakh rupees.

Khader said three teams comprising Food Safety Department and Drug Safety officials conducted inspections at Anekal and other locations on Tuesday, leading to the detection of significant quantities of food and pharmaceutical products.

Officials also inspected a facility in Lingarajapuram, where expired products worth around Rs 45 lakh were reportedly found.

“So far, we have found expired products worth approximately Rs 1 crore,” Khader said.

He said officials had found products from several companies that had already expired but were still being stored at the premises, raising concerns that they could have subsequently been supplied to consumers.

According to the minister, officials traced a large quantity of the products to Hoskote, where an inspection was still underway.

Khader said the Food Safety and Drug Safety departments would continue extensive inspections to prevent such practices and protect public health.

He said the government was also considering stronger legal measures against those who deliberately put people’s health at risk by selling expired or unsafe products.

"Anyone who cheats people in matters concerning their health and puts their health at risk should be dealt with under criminal law. There is a provision in this regard, and we are discussing the matter with the Law Department. We also want the Central government to look into this issue,” he said.

Khader said repeated warnings, penalties and other regulatory measures had not been sufficient to deter some offenders from repeating such practices.

He praised officials of the Food Safety Department for working round the clock and conducting inspections without favouring or sparing anyone.

Source: IANS