THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Food Safety Appellate Tribunal here has upheld the Rs 2-lakh fine that was imposed on a coconut oil manufacturer for selling substandard oil. The order was issued by judge S Sajikumar. The case pertaining to the verdict occurred in 2020 at Kunnathunadu panchayat in Ernakulam.
The oil sample collected from Kairali Traders by Food Safety Officer Neethu Nadir was found to be of low quality. A case was filed against Kairali Traders and Distributors Liya Traders before Muvattupuzha Adjudication Officer T Anil Kumar. Subsequently, Kairali Traders was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh.
Kairali traders filed an appeal before the tribunal. The defence counsel argued that during the time of the offence, the licence of Kairali Traders was invalid and the samples were taken without following food safety rules.
Additional government pleader M Salahudeen, who appeared for the Food Safety Department countered this and argued that the company had a valid licence.