CUTTACK: As business establishments and shops reopen after two months of lockdown, unscrupulous traders have resorted to the sale of the expired food products stocked with them across rural pockets of the district in absence of enforcement. As per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, a trader is not supposed to sell any consumable product after its expiry date. But traders in rural areas care two hoots for the norms.
With the summer intensifying, the sale of outdated drinking water bottles, pouches, and different kinds of beverages has picked up pace in the last few days. In absence of supply of fresh stocks, dry foods such as noodles, sauce, soups fruit jams jelly, cakes, snacks, and biscuits are now being sold without any consideration for manufacturing date and expiry period.
“After sitting idle for more than two months, what do we do with the products procured before the imposition of lockdown? Some items having short life term (within 3 to 6 months) and became outdated as we could not sell due to the lockdown. Can we toss them away and sustain the loss,” said a shopkeeper. As there is no supply of fresh stock, traders are being forced to sell the existing items. “There is no harm in using such food products,” they argue.
As people buy expired food products, the administration is still stuck in its lockdown mode. “These traders are playing with the lives of innocent people. It is a heinous offense and the Government should take note of it and crackdown. Violators must be booked under stringent provisions of the Essential Commodity Act, 1955,” said a social activist. Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani, however, said the district administration will launch an enforcement drive to curb the sale of outdated food products besides creating awareness among rural consumers.