India Unveils $80,000 Counterfeit Food Operation Involving Global Giants

Indian authorities have uncovered a massive counterfeiting operation involving major food and beverage companies. A warehouse in India was raided, revealing an $80,000 stockpile of products from PepsiCo, Nestle, Unilever, and Coca-Cola with forged expiry dates and nutritional information.

The fake labels were printed using machines, which altered the original details to comply with the regulations of destination countries. For example, some labels included both English and French languages, catering to international markets.

According to Tukaram Mundhe, Head of the Food and Drug Administration in India's Maharashtra state, 'I am absolutely shocked by the scale. It is like an organised activity. It’s been done systematically.'

Nearly 5,000 cartons of products were compromised, including PepsiCo's Lays and Kurkure chips, Nestle's Maggi Masala Noodles, Unilever's Knorr Mushroom Soup, Hellmann's Mayonnaise, and Coca-Cola's Thums Up and Limca cans.

The affected companies have yet to comment on the matter. The authorities are investigating the owners of the warehouse, Jayprakash Sanchatiram Singh and Jaya Navrang Bahadur Singh.