New Delhi, July 12 (IANS). The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has fined a catering service provider after it served expired bread in breakfast to passengers traveling in the New Delhi-Rani Kamlapati Shatabdi Express on Saturday.
The incident occurred in train number 12002, known as Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi Express. In this, packaged bread was served to 74 passengers, on which ‘last date of use’ of July 10, 2026 was written. It is said that many passengers ate the bread even before knowing the expiry date.
The matter came to light when a passenger checked the bread packet and saw the expiry date printed on it. After this information, other passengers also checked their food packets, after which many complaints were registered. Videos showing expired bread packets were also shared on social media.
Reacting to the incident, IRCTC said it has taken the matter ‘seriously’ and imposed a heavy penalty on the catering service provider providing the breakfast.
The railway catering body said the employees found guilty have been immediately removed from service. It has also directed the catering agency that the service personnel must check the expiry date of each packaged food item before serving it to the passengers.
IRCTC further said that it has ordered a probe into the incident to find out how expired food items were served despite quality checks.
In a post on social media platform X, IRCTC said that the matter has been taken seriously. A heavy fine has been imposed on the service provider. The guilty employees have been immediately removed from service.
It was further said that the service provider has also been given strict instructions that all the service staff must check the expiry date of all the products before serving them to the passengers.
As per the latest information available, there have been no official reports of any illness or adverse health effects among the affected passengers. IRCTC said it will take appropriate action based on the findings of the investigation and reiterates its commitment to maintain the quality of food and passenger safety in trains.
–IANS
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