A spice factory in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, India, manufactured counterfeit spices using odd adulterants such as donkey excrement, acid and hay, local police discovered during a raid, according to Business Today.
The factory had altered various products, including chili powder, powdered coriander, and “garam masala,” Business Today reported. (RELATED: ‘Toy Police’ Documents Allege Feds Loosened Oversight Of Imported Toys, Fewer Checks For Lead)
The Hathras police have unearthed a manufacturing unit making spurious and counterfeit spices of local brands using donkey dung and acid.https://t.co/JGLvVVzsrf
— Mumbai Mirror (@MumbaiMirror) December 16, 2020
“We have seized over 300 kg of fake spices being packed in names of some local brands,” Joint Magistrate Prem Prakash Meena, speaking of the raid, told Times of India.
Anoop Varshney, the factory’s owner, couldn’t show a license needed to run the factory when those investigating requested it, Times of India reported. “He also could not produce the license of the brands, which were being packed,” Magistrate Meena told the Times of India.
Meena told the Times of India that nearly 27 samples were obtained from the factory and sent for testing; once the lab reports return, a report will be filed against the factory’s owners for violating India’s 2006 Food Safety & Standards Act.
Under the act, a person who manufactures, sells, imports, or distributes “unsafe” food will face imprisonment and be charged with fines. The length of jail time and the amount fined would vary with the degree of injury the violation causes. If a violation “results in a non-grievous injury,” charged individuals would be imprisoned for a term extending up to one year and be slapped with fines that go up to 300,000 Indian Rupees (approximately over 4,000 USD), according to local law.
Varshney, the factory owner, has been apprehended and taken into custody under an Indian law that authorizes “arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences,” DNA reported.