Delhi Police have uncovered a major food safety racket in Dwarka where expired and near-expiry packaged food items such as biscuits, chips and soft drinks were allegedly repackaged and sold with forged labels showing extended expiry dates.
Acting on a tip-off on March 29, the Crime Branch raided a godown in Bamnoli village and arrested three men Kamal Mudgil (56), Shivam Singh (27) and Lokesh Kumar (35) for allegedly altering packaging and redistributing the goods in markets. Authorities seized 115 boxes containing around 3,096 soft drink cans along with large quantities of branded biscuits with tampered packaging and altered expiry stickers.
Officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) joined the operation, verified licences and collected samples for testing. Police say the accused erased original manufacturing and expiry details using chemicals and printing machines before relabelling the products and pushing them back into circulation, raising serious concerns about consumer safety. Investigators are now examining the wider supply chain to determine how long the racket had been operating and whether other distributors or retailers were involved.
Dwarka Raid Uncovers Tampered Foods
The illegal operation came to light when the Delhi Police Crime Branch received intelligence suggesting that expired consumer goods were being manipulated and reintroduced into the market from a warehouse in Dwarka’s Bamnoli village.
During the raid, officers recovered a large stock of everyday packaged items belonging to well-known multinational brands, including 115 boxes of soft drink cans and numerous packets of biscuits whose packaging appeared to have been altered. Investigators also reportedly found equipment used to modify product labels, including printing machines and materials used to erase original dates.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora, authorities seized all food items that carried forged batch numbers and altered expiry dates. Officials from FSSAI were called to the site to verify documentation and collect samples of the products for laboratory testing.
Police said the seized stock included roughly 3,096 soft drink cans and a large quantity of biscuits bearing suspicious stickers or altered manufacturing information. Authorities suspect that these products would have eventually reached neighbourhood shops and retail outlets, exposing unsuspecting consumers to potentially unsafe food items.
How Expired Snacks Reached Markets
Preliminary investigations suggest that the accused were procuring expired or near-expiry packaged goods at very low prices from different sources before altering their labels to extend the apparent shelf life. Police said the individuals allegedly removed original expiry dates using chemicals or solvents and printed new dates on the packaging with specialised machines.
Once relabelled, the goods were repacked in cartons and circulated in local markets, giving the appearance of being fresh stock. According to investigators, such tampering not only violates food safety regulations but also poses serious health risks because expired food products may harbour harmful bacteria or lose nutritional value over time.
Authorities are now examining whether retailers knowingly sold these items or whether the altered products entered the supply chain without their knowledge. Police are also trying to determine the scale and duration of the racket, including whether similar operations are active elsewhere in the capital.
In a related development, the Crime Branch recently uncovered another illegal manufacturing unit in Outer Delhi producing counterfeit toothpaste, highlighting broader concerns about fake and unsafe consumer goods circulating in urban markets. Officials say both cases underline the importance of stronger monitoring of distribution networks and stricter enforcement of food safety regulations.
What Experts Advise Consumers
Food safety experts say consumers can take a few simple precautions to protect themselves from potentially tampered packaged foods. Always check the manufacturing and expiry dates carefully, especially if stickers or labels appear freshly pasted, misaligned or different from the original packaging style. If the ink on the date looks smudged, overwritten or printed unevenly, it may indicate possible tampering.
Consumers are also advised to examine the overall packaging quality. Torn seals, damaged wrappers, unusual glue marks or repackaged cartons may be warning signs that a product has been altered. Experts recommend purchasing packaged foods from trusted retailers or authorised outlets, as informal supply chains are more vulnerable to counterfeit or expired goods being recirculated.
Another useful precaution is to look for batch numbers, FSSAI licence details and QR codes on packaged food items. If something seems suspicious such as a product nearing expiry but still being sold in large quantities consumers can report it to food safety authorities through official complaint channels.
Finally, experts emphasise that if a packaged snack or beverage tastes unusual, smells odd, or appears different in colour or texture, it should not be consumed. Raising awareness and reporting suspicious products promptly can help authorities act faster and prevent unsafe food from reaching more consumers.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The discovery of this racket highlights how easily everyday trust can be exploited when profit takes precedence over public safety. Packaged snacks and beverages are staples in millions of households, and most consumers rely on the assumption that the products available in shops meet basic safety standards.
When expiry dates are manipulated and expired goods are quietly reintroduced into the market, it undermines that trust and places public health at risk especially for children and vulnerable groups who consume such foods regularly. While the swift action by law enforcement agencies is commendable, this incident also exposes deeper systemic gaps in monitoring supply chains and enforcing food safety norms.
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