Do you order your groceries online through one of those quick commerce apps that reach your doorstep within 10 minutes? If the answer’s yes, here’s something worth knowing – expired food products with manipulated
labels may be contaminating legitimate supply chains to enter your homes and kitchens.
Police investigating a recent fake expiry date racket busted in Delhi’s Okhla are examining whether relabelled products were supplied to warehouses also used by e-commerce sellers before eventually reaching consumers.
Investigators are still trying to establish the full scale of the network, and there is no evidence at this stage that any online grocery platform knowingly sold tampered products. But the case has drawn attention to a weak link in the food supply chain — what happens to packaged food once it is close to, or past, its expiry date?
What Police Found In Delhi
According to a report by The Indian Express, Delhi Police recently busted an operation in southeast Delhi’s Okhla Industrial Area where expired packaged food and beverages were allegedly being relabelled with fresh expiry dates before being sold again.
Investigators allege that the accused removed original manufacturing and expiry dates using liquid thinners before printing new dates with handheld machines. In some cases, they allegedly pasted freshly printed stickers over the original labels if the old markings could not be completely erased.
Police allege that the accused bought heavily discounted near-expiry products from dozens of wholesalers across several states, manipulated the expiry and manufacturing dates, and resold the products at regular prices to earn ill-gotten profits.
During the raid, officers said they seized food products worth more than Rs 20 lakh. Besides counterfeit labels, they also recovered forged nutrition stickers, fake barcodes and batch labels.
Perhaps the most significant part of the investigation is what police are now looking into. According to officers quoted by The Indian Express, investigators are examining whether some of these relabelled products entered warehouses used by legitimate online sellers before reaching consumers.
The investigation is ongoing, and police are yet to establish the complete distribution chain.
Why This Matters Beyond One Godown
Food safety experts have long warned that expired packaged food does not simply disappear once retailers can no longer sell it.
Normally, manufacturers have systems in place to recall, destroy or safely dispose of expired stock. But near-expiry products sold at heavy discounts, diverted through wholesalers or handled outside authorised channels can sometimes end up circulating longer than the original shelf life of the product.
If expiry labels are altered, a consumer has little way of knowing how old the product actually is.
That does not mean every discounted product or every online grocery order is unsafe. Most packaged food sold through organised retail follows established quality checks. But the Delhi case highlights why regulators pay close attention to traceability within food supply chains.
Regulators Are Already Watching Closely
The alleged racket comes at a time when food safety authorities are also paying closer attention to complaints involving packaged food sold online.
Earlier this month, the Times of India reported that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued multiple notices after receiving complaints about expired or spoiled food being delivered through a quick-commerce platform.
Taken together, the developments underline a larger challenge: ensuring that products moving through increasingly complex supply chains remain safe until they reach consumers.
How To Spot Fake Or Tampered Expiry Label?
There is no fool-proof way to identify a forged expiry date, especially if the tampering has been done professionally. But food safety experts say consumers can keep an eye out for a few warning signs:
Look closely at the date print: A genuine expiry date usually matches the rest of the packaging — same ink, same font, same depth. If the date looks smudged, slightly raised, oddly aligned, or printed in a different font, take a second look.
Check for a sticker over the original date: Some rackets don’t reprint, they just paste a new sticker over the old one. Watch for a visible edge, bubbling, or a faint older date peeking out underneath.
Be suspicious of an unusually long shelf life: Most packaged foods and drinks have a fairly standard gap between manufacturing and expiry for that category. If the dates look stretched well beyond what’s normal, that’s worth questioning.
Check the FSSAI licence number: Every legal food package in India carries a 14-digit FSSAI licence number, usually printed near the manufacturing details. You can check it against the seller on FSSAI’s FoSCoS portal.
Trust your gut, especially for perishables: For dairy, ghee and similar items, an off smell, odd colour or separated texture tells you more than the printed date does. The packaging can be altered, but the product itself can’t fully fake freshness.
Don’t toss the packaging if something feels off: If a delivered item looks tampered with, hold onto it. Photograph the barcode and the date print before you raise it with the platform or seller.
Where To Report A Suspected Case Of Tampering?
If a packaged food item arrives with a damaged label, an expiry date that appears to have been pasted over, or any obvious signs of tampering, experts recommend photographing the packaging before opening it.
Consumers can immediately raise the issue with the seller or delivery platform, request a replacement or refund, and preserve the product if a complaint needs to be investigated.
You can also report the alleged forgery directly to FSSAI through its Food Safety Connect app or the FoSCoS online grievance portal.
