In Atyrau, a single jar of expired baby food has led to a hefty fine for a local store. The incident occurred at a shopping center on the Atyrau–Dossor highway, reports infohub.kz.
Sanitary and epidemiological control officers found a package of baby food on sale past its expiration date. For this violation, the company was brought to administrative responsibility under Part 1 of Article 425 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and fined 6 million 920 thousand tenge.
However, the store disagreed with the decision and appealed to the court, arguing that it was only one item. Company representatives claimed the violation was not systematic or widespread, and the expired product remained on the shelf due to an employee's mistake in not removing it in time.
Initially, the store sought to have the fine completely overturned and the case dismissed. But during the court hearing, the representative admitted guilt and asked for the maximum reduction in the penalty.
The court concluded that the violation was confirmed: selling food products past their expiration date is prohibited regardless of the quantity. At the same time, mitigating circumstances were taken into account. The Code of Administrative Offenses allows reducing the fine by no more than 30% in such cases.
As a result, the fine was reduced from 6 million 920 thousand to 4 million 844 thousand tenge. The store's appeal was partially satisfied.