Now Reading: Karnataka High Court refuses to quash expired food relabeling case
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Karnataka High Court refuses to quash expired food relabeling case
The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash a criminal investigation against Earth Recycler Private Limited, a company accused of collecting expired food products and reselling them after relabelling. Justice M. Nagaprasanna…
The Story in Brief
The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash a criminal investigation against Earth Recycler Private Limited, a company accused of collecting expired food products and reselling them after relabelling. Justice M. Nagaprasanna called the alleged racket a 'calculated assault on public health' and an attack on customer trust.
The court rejected the company's argument that the Food Safety and Standards Act is a complete code, saying police are not helpless under a special law. The judge warned that 'mushrooming instances' of expired food in hotels reflect a 'disturbing malaise' in the hospitality industry, and ordered regulatory machinery to move beyond occasional, outrage-driven inspections.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that India's food safety laws are toothless is too easy. This order shows the judiciary is willing to call a profit-driven relabeling racket a 'calculated assault on public health'. The real test is whether the FSSAI and state food safety departments match the court's language with action: surprise inspections that are truly constant, not triggered by viral videos. How many such Earth Recyclers were already licensed to collect expired goods, and how many have been shut after this case?
Sources (3): thehindu.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, livelaw.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
