Five expatriates have been sentenced to jail after being found guilty of tampering with expiry dates on food products and preparing them for sale in local markets.
The Lower Criminal Court convicted the Asian defendants in a case referred by the Public Prosecution after a tip-off led police to a residence and commercial premises where spoiled goods were being reprocessed and relabelled for sale.
According to the Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecution for Ministries and Entities, the court sentenced the company owner to three years in prison, fined him BD10,000, and ordered his deportation after serving the sentence.
The remaining defendants received prison terms ranging from three months to three years, with two ordered to be permanently deported after completing their sentences.
The court also fined the company BD5,000, ordered the confiscation and destruction of the counterfeit and spoiled goods, as well as the material and equipment used in the operation.
In addition, the court ruled that a summary of the verdict and its reasoning be published at the expense of the convicted parties, and ordered the closure of the company for six months.
The case came to light when the Public Prosecution received a report from Naim Police Station under the Capital Governorate Police Directorate.
An Asian national alerted authorities that his roommate was storing expired food products at their shared residence and altering the expiry dates in preparation for distributing them to markets.
Judicial officers immediately moved to inspect the residence and a commercial establishment owned by the main defendant. There, they discovered quantities of spoiled and expired food items. Investigations revealed that original expiry dates had been removed and replaced with falsified ones.
Officers also seized repackaged goods carrying labels of foreign companies with which the defendants had no legitimate connection, indicating a wider attempt to pass off the products as genuine branded items.
The Public Prosecution said the charges centred on possession, distribution and marketing of expired goods after tampering with their validity dates – actions that pose serious risks to public health and consumer safety.
It stressed that such practices represent a grave breach of food safety regulations and commercial integrity, and reaffirmed that strict legal action will be taken against anyone attempting to manipulate food products or mislead consumers in Bahrain’s markets.
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