Regulators
FSSAI suspends Westend Agro Products licence over alleged expiry date tampering
Food regulator cites relabelling, misleading claims and unsafe food practices after inspection
New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has suspended the licence of Westend Agro Products Pvt Ltd with immediate effect after an inspection allegedly uncovered widespread violations, including the alteration of manufacturing and expiry dates on food products.
According to the regulator, the action followed a complaint alleging that the company had altered manufacturing and packing dates, fraudulently relabelled products and sold misbranded food items.
During the inspection, FSSAI found that Westend Agro Products Pvt Ltd and Westend Corporation were operating from the same premises.
Inspectors allegedly discovered several food products with altered manufacturing dates, expiry dates, batch numbers and misleading label declarations. The regulator also recovered printing machinery, stamps, solvents and other materials that it said were used to modify mandatory food labelling information.
FSSAI further said it seized packaging materials, labels and printed wrappers carrying misleading declarations, including claims that certain products were “organic”.
“Deliberate forgery and alteration of mandatory labelling information and sale of food with false or misleading labels pose a direct threat to consumer and public health. The food products are, therefore, prima facie considered unsafe,” the regulator said in a statement.
Based on its findings, FSSAI suspended the company’s state licence with immediate effect.
The action is the latest in a series of enforcement measures by the food regulator.
On Saturday, FSSAI imposed a penalty on Sopan Restaurant after laboratory analysis found a sample of flavoured double-toned milk served in the pantry car of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express to be sub-standard. The adjudication order followed testing of a Nova Flavoured Double Toned Milk sample collected from Pantry Car No. 15904.
Earlier this week, the regulator also suspended the licence of Rehaan Healthcare after identifying serious violations at its health supplements and nutraceutical manufacturing facility. The company has been directed to halt production until all deficiencies are rectified and verified by the competent authority.
In recent months, FSSAI has intensified enforcement against food and beverage manufacturers, including energy drink and alcoholic beverage companies, over misleading claims and labelling practices. The regulator has also issued notices to several e-commerce platforms as part of its broader effort to strengthen food safety compliance.
FSSAI said these enforcement actions stem from consumer complaints, suo motu investigations and routine inspections conducted by food safety officers, with many of the actions now being publicly disclosed through its social media channels.
