1.5 lakh kg expired Amul products destroyed in Jaipur after firm caught altering expiry dates

In a major crackdown on food safety violations, Rajasthan authorities recently destroyed nearly 1.5 lakh kilograms of expired Amul non-dairy products in Jaipur after a distributor was allegedly caught erasing expiry dates and preparing to print new ones to resell the items.

The large-scale operation, carried out by the state’s Food Safety Department, followed a complaint lodged on the 181 public grievance helpline, prompting officials to inspect a warehouse in Jaipur’s Kho Nagorian area.

Principal Secretary of the Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department Gayatri Rathore said a team from the Chief Medical Officer’s office in Jaipur II was immediately dispatched to the site after the complaint alleged that Messrs Athlete Distributor was attempting to sell expired food products.

During the inspection, officials discovered a massive stockpile of food cartons stored inside the warehouse. The consignment included several Amul-branded non-dairy items such as noodles, ketchup, mayonnaise and energy drinks, manufactured by Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union, Gujarat, and supplied by Advansys India Private Limited.

Authorities said around 12,000 cartons contained products that had already expired, while another 3,000 cartons showed signs of tampering, with expiry dates allegedly erased from the packaging.

Investigators also recovered thinner, acetone, and other chemicals believed to have been used to remove the printed expiry dates. Officials said the distributor was allegedly planning to print fresh expiry dates, repack the items in about 4,500 new Amul-branded cartons, and sell them in the market for profit.

Additional Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Control Bhagwat Singh said the inspection team was stunned by the scale of the operation.

According to officials, the businessman admitted during questioning that he had learned the method of altering expiry dates through YouTube videos.

The seizure was so extensive that the destruction process lasted four days. The confiscated products were loaded onto 27 trucks and transported to a garbage dumping site, where they were destroyed at the expense of the firm.

Food Safety Commissioner Dr T Shubhamangala said authorities had earlier received information about suspicious activity at the warehouse. Neighbours reportedly told officials that 10 to 12 workers would enter the premises each morning, after which the main gate remained closed until evening and no outsiders were allowed inside.

Investigators also found that the food licence of Messrs Athlete Store had already expired, raising further regulatory violations.

Officials said notices are being issued to Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union and Advansys India Private Limited for further action under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006.

The warehouse has been sealed, and the distributor’s food business operations have been banned pending further investigation.

Authorities said a formal complaint will also be filed against Messrs Athlete Distributor under multiple provisions of the FSSA for storing expired products, allegedly altering expiry dates to facilitate sale, operating without a valid food license, and failing to comply with directions issued by food safety officers.