Fungus found in organic butter, woman wins Rs 1 lakh payout from shop, manufacturer

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, Hyderabad, has directed a retailer and a butter manufacturer to pay a total of Rs 2 lakh in punitive damages and compensation after a woman was sold an organic cooking butter allegedly covered in fungus.

President Vakkanti Narasimha Rao and members P V T R Jawahar Babu and Suma Vala directed the two companies to pay Rs 50,000 each to the complainant as compensation and pay another Rs 50,000 each as punitive damages and deposit the same into the consumer welfare fund.

“That the 2nd opposite party who is the manufacturer of the product failed to check the storage conditions and temperature maintained for the storage of the product put the product for the sale in the outlet of the 1st opposite party number. That the 1st opposite party (seller) also failed to take proper care to maintain the storage temperature…,” the commission noted.

Compensation and punitive damages

According to the complainant, she had purchased a cooking butter pack from a retailer by paying Rs 230. She alleged that after reaching home, when she opened the pack, the butter was covered in fungus. She approached the retailer with the product but alleged that its staff responded irresponsibly and threatened her. She subsequently contacted the manufacturer and issued a legal notice to it and the concerned authorities, including the FSSAI.

The manufacturer replied to the legal notice, indicating that the retailer’s open chiller had failed to maintain the recommended storage temperature.

The retailer denied the allegations and said that they are only a retailer and seller of the product and no role to play with respect to the manufacturing or packaging and marketing of the product’s pre-packed, sealed food products. The manufacturer told the commission that immediately after receiving the complaint from the complainant, their expert committee visited the store and examined the product in depth, investigated the temperatures of the cold storage, refrigerator and found that the cold storage temperatures were not in synchronisation with the product specific temperature.

After examining a report, the commission held that both the opposite parties failed to take any preventive measures to safeguard the quality of the organic cooking butter purchased by the consumers. “…the opposite parties here in failed to take precautionary measures to maintain the recommended storage temperature required and as such the food material packed becomes adulterated and becomes harmful for human consumption, if it was consumed without noticing the contamination,” the commission observed.

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It therefore directed the opposite parties to refund the purchase price of Rs 230 and pay the aforesaid compensation and punitive damages along with Rs 10,000 litigation costs. The commission directed both companies to discontinue the unfair or restrictive trade practices and not repeat them. It also directed that copies of the order be sent to the FSSAI, Telangana food safety authorities, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the Supreme Court and the Telangana High Court.

Takeaway

Retailers and manufacturers must ensure that perishable food products are stored at the recommended temperatures to prevent contamination and safeguard consumers’ health.

Aggrieved consumers may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states (Telangana: 0771-2582902) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.

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