Expired beverage bottles recovered

The Sindh Food Authority (SFA) in its drive against the sale and consumption of expired food items, seized a large quantity of expired beverages from a warehouse in Hali road area on Tuesday. SFA Deputy Director Fida Khoso told The Express Tribune that between 25,000 to 30,000 bottles of leading beverages companies were recovered in the raid which ended up in sealing of the facility and a fine of Rs300,000. According to the official, the warehouse's owner Noor Ahmed tried to mislead the raiding team that the large consignment was stored not for the purpose of sale in the market. "He tried to make us believe that the beverages were supposed to be exchanged with the manufacturing companies," Khoso said. He added that they came to know that the expiry dates of the entire stock was being changed at the godown. However, the SFA did not accept the owner's assertion and seized the entire stock, which consisted of small and large bottles of different leading bottlers. The bottles were shifted to a large vacant piece of land where they were emptied out. The SFA does not lodge FIRs in such cases as the suspected violators of the food safety rules are given two show cause notices besides slapping of fines. But a persistent disregard to the law entails FIRs.