From milk to paneer, firms fined Rs64 lakh over food quality in Noida

Noida: Nineteen food business operators across Noida that violated safety standards and registration norms have been slammed with fines amounting to Rs 64.6 lakh in two months.

The penalties, which ranged from Rs 15,000 to Rs 14.2 lakh, were imposed by the additional district magistrate (administration) court in April and May for after long-pending cases reached a conclusion following hearings, evidence evaluation and legal proceedings.

Among the most significant penalties was a fine of Rs 14.2 lakh imposed on Reliance Fresh Limited in Greater Noida. The case dates back to Feb 15, 2018, when food safety teams collected a sample of paneer (Heritage brand) from the outlet in Beta-I, Main Market. Lab analysis found the sample to be both misbranded and substandard.

"Misbranding referred to the absence of crucial packaging details such as manufacturing date and expiry, while substandard meant the product failed to meet quality benchmarks," said assistant commissioner of food safety in Noida Sarvesh Kumar.

"This is a serious lapse, especially from a large-scale food retailer. The manager of the retail outlet, the retail outlet firm, as well as M/s Heritage Foods Limited, which are the manufacturer and supplier of the paneer, have been penalised," the assistant commissioner said.