Pune: Two agencies appointed by a prominent quick-commerce company tasked with destroying expired, rejected and damaged food products were allegedly diverting the same back into the supply chain for sale.Pimpri Chinchwad police on Saturday registered separate cases against the owners of the two agencies based on a complaint lodged by officials of Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Separate cases were registered at the North Mahalunge MIDC and South Mahalunge MIDC police stations under sections 318 (cheating), 275 (sale of noxious food or drink) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act.An officer from Pimpri Chinchwad police said FDA had launched a special inspection drive in the Chakan area on Oct 14 after receiving inputs that expired, rejected, spoiled and packaging-damaged food products were being diverted for resale instead of being properly destroyed. “During a raid at a godown of a quick-commerce company at Nighoje in Khed taluka, FDA officials found more than 1,000 kg of expired or damaged food items worth Rs1.39 lakh in the disposal section of the godown.”On the same day, the FDA officials raided a godown belonging to the retail chain at Ambethan in Khed taluka, where they found a large quantity of expired food products and items damaged by rats.FDA officials subsequently raided two agencies: one at Kudalwadi in Chikhali was appointed to collect and destroy the stock. “The owner failed to provide documents pertaining to the quantity of food products received from the quick-commerce company and details of their final disposal,” the officer said. And the second was an agency at Wagholi appointed to do the same. “Officials of the retail chain and the owner of the Wagholi-based agency conspired to divert the damaged food products back into the supply chain,” the officer said.On Oct 14 and 15, the FDA officials conducted raids at several locations in Pune and Thane districts, uncovering food stocks worth more than Rs48 lakh.
