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The owner of a commercial establishment has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined BD101,000 by the Lower Criminal Court for possessing and marketing spoiled food items.
Two expatriate employees were also convicted for their involvement yesterday – one was sentenced to two years in prison and fined BD10, while the other received a one-year prison term.
Both will be deported from the kingdom upon completion of their sentences.
Charges brought against them included possessing spoiled and expired foodstuffs, distributing and marketing them after falsifying their expiry dates, and operating without a licence.
The court also ordered the closure of the establishment for six months, along with the confiscation and destruction of all spoiled and adulterated goods, as well as the materials and tools used in committing the offences.
According to case documents, the Public Prosecution acted on a report from the Industry and Commerce Ministry after expired products were discovered during an inspection.
Investigations further revealed that expiry dates had been deliberately tampered with by removing the original labels and replacing them with new ones.
Following these findings, the ministry ordered the closure of the establishment. More than 600 expired food items were confiscated and a report by a forgery expert concluded that the dates had been altered.
The defendants were arrested and referred for trial at the Lower Criminal Court, which sentenced them to jail.
During the first hearing on November 22, the Attorney General underscored the Public Prosecution’s firm stance against violations involving consumer goods.
The Public Prosecution stated that it will not hesitate to rigorously apply the law against anyone who manipulates goods – particularly foodstuffs – as these practices endanger the health and safety of citizens and residents.
Consumers in Bahrain can report expired food items to the authorities, either by emailing the ministry at consumer_protection@moic.gov.bh, calling 17007003, or via the government’s suggestions and complaints system Tawasul.
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