THE owners of two food distribution companies, along with managers and 19 employees, have been found guilty of involvement in altering validity dates on expired food products.
One of the owners was sentenced to three years in prison and fined BD100,000 by the Lower Criminal Court yesterday, while the other owner was only fined BD101,000.
A manager was sentenced to three years in jail, while 19 other defendants working for the establishments were given two-year prison sentences each.
All retail outlets of the two family-owned companies will be closed for six months, and the businesses have to pay BD10,000 fine for each outlet.
The judge also ruled that all expat defendants are to be deported after completing their sentences.
An order to confiscate all invalid food items and the tools used in altering their expiration dates was issued by the court.
“The health and safety of food items are of top priority and cannot be compromised,” said first chief prosecutor and assistant attorney general Wael Buallay yesterday.
“All those who run food-related establishments in Bahrain must comply completely with laws and policies, and ensure that all safety standards are followed.”
During the last hearing, lawyer Rabab Al Arrayed, representing one of the owners and the two businesses, stated that the offending food items were slated to be destroyed, having been marked as a loss in company records.
In a defence memo, she told the judge that her client had no direct role to play in any supposed fraud scheme, as he had greater matters to attend to in the company, such as making deals.
She also argued that the law did not criminalise the mere act of possessing and storing expired goods, it only became a crime when these goods were put on sale or distributed.
“As per the companies’ audit reports, this stock wasn’t recorded as part of inventory, but rather as a negative,” she claimed. “They were never to be sold to the public, so there was no crime in the first place.”
The GDN previously reported that a worker who had recently arrived in Bahrain in order to work in one of the warehouses had lodged a complaint with the police about the alleged malpractice.
The Industry and Commerce Ministry took action, issuing an order to close the violating warehouse and affiliated outlets, which were all placed under judicial seizure.
Experts from the ministry were tasked with making an inventory of the stock and identifying expired items, as well as taking necessary measures to remove any expired goods from the market.
The inventory allegedly revealed more than 14,000 expired food products as well as tools that were used to erase original expiry dates.
Mr Buallay affirmed that the Public Prosecution was committed to protecting public health and preventing the waste of consumable goods.
Maintenance technicians have also been allowed periodic access to the warehouse to ensure proper refrigeration and prevent spoilage.
The company was identified as Aldaaysi Markets and its registered warehouse, Aldaaysi Distribution.
Mr Buallay had said that the decision to name the company was in the interest of public health and safety.
Preliminary investigations indicated that spoiled food products, including biscuits and cookies, were allegedly marketed and sold after their expiry dates were altered or replaced.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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