Samosa seller fined Rs3.7mn over food safety breach

A samosa seller has been fined around Rs3.7 million over breaching food safety rules set by the authorities.

Authorities took extreme measures against the samosa-making company Soma & Sons after it failed to follow the plan aimed at avoiding food safety risks to consumers. The company also failed to keep records of its samosa-making for a minimum of four years, reports said.

The Auckland-based samosa seller was fined $13,500 (PKR3.74 million) in the Auckland District Court after it failed to comply with New Zealand’s Food Control Plan, as per local media outlets.

The authorities in New Zealand said that the samosa-making company’s manager Bhavesh Soma was also fined $3,000.

Soma was alleged to have provided false information to a food safety officer.

According to New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS), it had recalled the company’s prepared samosas in 2021 because the products were being stored at an unsafe temperature.

Further, the samosa seller company also failed to record the temperature of stored samosas on four different occasions between 2020 and 2022.

Following the fines, an NZFS official said its officers had mentioned what was required of Soma & Sons on several occasions.

“While we are not aware of anyone becoming ill from eating these products, the absence of records means there is no assurance that the plan is being followed,” the official said.

“It’s very disappointing to see this disregard for consumer health. NZFS will continue to hold such businesses to account to ensure consumers are protected and to demonstrate to the vast majority of food businesses that do the right thing that the overall system is being monitored,” he added.