Parle asked to pay compensation for worms in biscuit packet

A consumer court here has ordered leading snacks and biscuits manufacturer Parle and a retailer to pay a consumer Rs 35,000 as compensation for selling a worm-infested packet of biscuits.
The Thane Additional District Consumer Redressal Forum passed the order on a complaint of Mohammad Zuber Sheikh earlier this week.
The complainant said he purchased a packet of Parle-G biscuits worth Rs 25 in the CBD Belapur area of Navi Mumbai. He alleged he found worms inside the packet.
Consumer forum president A Z Telgote and member Trymbak Thool observed that date of packaging was January 2015 but the expiry date was not visible.

"This amounts to clear deficiency in service on the part of opposite parties causing mental agony to the complainant and his family," the forum said.
It said the order was based on the lab report which found that the biscuit packet had insects, larva and cobwebs, and therefore it was unsafe for human consumption.

The respondents -- the company and the retailer -- failed to appear for the proceedings so the case was decided ex-parte (in their absence).
The forum asked respondents to pay a compensation of Rs 35,000 -- Rs 25,000 for causing mental agony and Rs 10,000 as litigation fee -- to the complainant.

When contacted, Parle's category head for biscuits Mayank Shah said the company was not aware of the order, but the problem might have occurred due to poor stocking of the product.