Bengaluru, Sep 8: Karnataka authorities stepped up action against the storage and sale of expired food and medicines on Tuesday, raiding a Swiggy Instamart warehouse in Bengaluru as Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader urged consumers to verify expiry dates before buying products.
The raid formed part of a wider enforcement operation by the Food Safety Department and Drug Safety Department across Bengaluru and surrounding areas. Further details of the action at the Instamart facility were awaited.
Khader said authorities had seized food and medicines worth about Rs 3 crore across Karnataka during the past week. The seizures included expired products and medicines allegedly stored and relabelled for sale.
The minister asked consumers to remain alert and report suspicious products or packaging, saying even a minor indication could help authorities uncover a larger violation. He also said the department had introduced QR codes and barcodes to enable consumers to verify products.
Khader urged social activists to spread awareness about these verification systems in public places and encourage wider public participation in preventing unsafe products from reaching consumers through both online and offline channels.
Drug Safety officials found medicines valued at about Rs 45 lakh at dark stores in Hoskote, where some products were allegedly relabelled. Authorities took the seized material into custody and began further investigation.
The inspections also followed the department’s inquiry into a proposed event described as a ‘peptide party’. Khader said he received information about the event through social media and immediately alerted the department commissioner.
Officials attempted to register for the event online while posing as customers but were not allowed to do so, according to the minister. He said organisers were selectively permitting participants. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to register, officials issued notices and summoned the organisers for questioning, following which the event was cancelled after warnings about legal consequences.
The inquiry continued despite the cancellation. Organisers reportedly told officials that the event was intended to introduce pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, including food and nutraceutical items. They also reportedly told authorities that some products came through Amazon dark stores.
Acting on the information, Food Safety Department officials inspected and raided facilities linked to the supply chain. Three teams comprising Food Safety and Drug Safety officials conducted inspections at Anekal and other locations on Tuesday.
Officials also inspected a facility in Lingarajapuram, where expired products reportedly worth about Rs 45 lakh were found. Khader said the department had so far detected expired products worth approximately Rs 1 crore, including goods from several companies that remained stored despite having passed their expiry dates.
A major quantity was traced to Hoskote, where inspection was continuing. Khader said both departments would maintain extensive checks and that the government was considering stronger legal action against deliberate violations.
He said the government was discussing the issue with the Law Department and wanted the Centre to examine it as well, noting that repeated warnings, penalties and regulatory action had failed to deter some offenders.
Khader commended Food Safety Department officials for conducting inspections continuously and without favouring any individual or entity.
