Food companies slapped Rs 4 Lakhs fine for ‘misbranding’ rusk

BAREILLY: Additional district magistrate (city) OP Verma on Tuesday has slapped a rusk-making unit and a milk processing unit under the Food Safety & Standard Act (FSSA) with a fine of Rs 4 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively for violating the norms.

The food safety inspectors had collected rusk samples in 2016 from a food products company in Fatehganj West and from a restaurant at CB Ganj. The food products firm was found guilty of misbranding the rusk it produces. ADM imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh on the unit.

Similarly, the lab reports said the milk sample, collected from a restaurant in CB Ganj was substandard. The manager of the milk processing unit that supplies pasteurized full cream milk was fined Rs 2 lakh.

A team of food safety and drugs administration (FSDA) department had raided the food products company on February 11, 2016. The team “purchased” four packets of rusk from the unit and sent the same to the government-run laboratory in Varanasi for tests.

The lab report came in December 2016. Thereafter, the FSDA officials took the matter to the court of the ADM. The lab report said that the manufacturer had not declared its batch number and packing date on its wrapper. Besides, nutritional information and “best use before” dates were written in small letters instead of capital letters, which is a violation of FSS (packaging and labelling) regulation, 2011. The lab report termed the sample as “misbranded”.

In another matter, FSDA team had collected milk samples from CB Ganj in October 2016 and sent the same to the Varanasi lab. The lab report suggested that the milk fat was about 23% deficient, “Hence the sample is substandard.”

The ADM said, “After hearing both sides and on the basis of evidences produced by the FSDA officials, the food products company is found guilty under section 58 and 52 of FSSA. Similarly, manager of the milk unit is found guilty under section 51 of FSSA.”

The court slapped a fine of Rs 4 lakh on BR foods while City Fresh was penalised by Rs 2 lakh. Both the guilty are given 30 day time to deposit penalty amount in the court.