Supreme Court Quashes Criminal Case Against PepsiCo for Misbranding

The Supreme Court, quashed a 2007 criminal case against PepsiCo under Section 7 read with Section 16  of the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954, and Rules 32 and 50  of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955.

The case involved alleged misbranding of Gatorade bottles inspected in Jalandhar on August 9, 2007.

The PFA Act was repealed by the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, effective May 28, 2008, which reclassified offences like misbranding as civil wrongs punishable by fines under Section 52.

Following Punjab's submission to close the case upon payment of a ₹3 lakh penalty, PepsiCo complied, and the court concluded the matter.