Expiry date tampering: Court summons supplier

Manama : The Court has summoned the owner of a food ingredients supply company for alleged involvement in tampering with the labels on foodstuff packets. 

The owner as well as a few of the workers who were accused of being involved in the fraud will be investigated as the court case which follows a complaint filed last year moves forward. 

According to the complaint filed at Budaiya police station, the company reportedly tampered with labels on food packet and changed expiration dates. 

The complaint was filed by a former employee of the company in November last year. 

According to the former employee, a majority of the customers of the company were supplied with expired products from time to time after the expiration dates were changed on the labels.

The customers of the products included luxury hotels, schools, restaurants and companies.

“The owner has been called to Court, he will be questioned about his involvement. There were a few employees who were video taped while apparently tampering with the labels. Stills from the video were published in the media. These employees are also called to Court as the video was submitted to the authorities,” a source said.

According to the source, the men along with the former employee who made the allegations are called to Court on June 25. 

“They are called on 25th of this month but that could change because the Eid holidays fall on this date. The hearing is likely to be postponed to September,” the source told DT News.

The former employee who was fired after she made the allegations, has been called to Court to give her testimony. She said she has been struggling, being unemployed for months and wants to go back to her home-country.

 “The postponement of the hearing in the case will be a disappointment because I am struggling to make ends meet. I don’t know how I will survive here until September. I have a daughter to support and without an income I am struggling, my savings are depleting rapidly,” the former employee told DT News.

“The fact that I exposed my former company is well known in the industry I work in. So finding a job is difficult in the present condition as employers are not ready to take me. Being in this situation has made my life really hard,” she added.