MADURAI: With Deepavali just days away, supervisors of the Aavin facility in Madurai have been selling old products, including expired Rasagullas, alleged dealers on Monday.
According to Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers Association deputy secretary M Rupan, who is also a dealer, the zonal in-charge at the zonal office of Aavin in Arapalayam gave expired boxes of Rasagulla to the dealers.
"Few days back, I had gone to the zonal office to settle money for milk, and the zonal in-charge gave me two boxes of Rasagulla, which had an expiry date of October 25. When I called the officer to inquire about this, he refused to speak over the phone," Rupan said, adding that each box cost Rs 90 (200g).
Speaking to TNIE, District Employees Union (CITU) secretary R Lenin said, "Madurai division of Aavin has facilities to produce just Mysurpa and milk kova. However, all milk sweets, Rasgullas and solid milk sweets are produced by the Chennai Aavin division. These are then distributed throughout Tamil Nadu. If Aavin forces its own dealers with expired products, how can the customers trust it?"
When contacted, a top official from Aavin (Madurai) said, "Currently, one dealer raised the issue about the Rasgullas, but no formal complaint has been lodged. However, one must note that we had ordered Rasgullas from Chennai on October 20, 2024, and the goods arrived on October 21, 2024. Yet, the dealer claimed that he got those items a few days ago. We believe it is a false complaint. Yet, we will check the batch number of the expired goods with other orders from Chennai."