Consumer commission slaps Nik Baker's with ₹40,000 fine after birthday cake blamed for child falling sick

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Panchkula recently slapped Nik Baker's with a fine of ₹40,000 for deficiency in service. [Anju Ahlawat vs Nik Bakers and Anr].The order was passed on September 21 on a 2019 complaint which alleged that a child had fallen sick after consuming a birthday cake sold by the bakery..A coram of President Satpal and members Dr. Sushma Garg and Dr. Barhm Parkash Yadav observed that once such a serious allegation was leveled against the bakery, a heavy duty was cast upon them to get the cake sample tested from their laboratory, which it failed to do. ."Since the complainant had leveled the very serious allegations qua the quality of the cake, on the same day, a heavy duty was cast upon the OPs, who claimed themselves to be equipped with appropriate laboratory facility, manned by qualified and experienced Food Technologist, to get the sample of the cake tested from their laboratory," the commission stated..The complaint before the commission was filed by a woman who alleged that on June 29, 2019, she ordered a cake from the bakery for her son's birthday on July 3, 2019.As per the complaint, when the cake was being cut and while a piece was being fed to the child, the family realized that the cake contained a colour that left red marks on their hands and which was non-edible and unhygienic. As a result, the cake was not eaten by all guests, including the complainant.However, the complainant's son fell ill that night and suffered from vomiting and loose motions. The next day, a doctor is said to have confirmed that this happened due to unhygienic food.The bakery allegedly did not respond to emails, leading the complainant to file a consumer complaint over the matter. .The bakery countered the allegations by stating that no laboratory report was placed on record to support the complainant's allegations. The bakery asserted that it only used premium quality ingredients and followed the best industry practices. Every food recipe goes through multiple quality processes, controls and checks by an exclusively and highly qualified food technologist, with the aid of well-equipped machinery, to ensure safe and best quality healthy food, the bakery said. The bakery further suggested that the complainant may not have refrigerated the cake as instructed which may have led to the icing on the cake melting. As a result, the colours from the icing might have stained the clothes and hands of those at the birthday celebration, the bakery added.The bakery also argued that there were more than 12 people at the birthday party and that none of them suffered any illness after consuming the cake.Moreover, the bakery referred to a medical prescription which indicated that the complainant's son had been suffering from a sore throat and chest congestion. This could not have happened within 12-15 hours of consuming the cake, the bakery contended. The bakery also pointed out that the complainant had failed to produce a medical expert's opinion to confirm that the child had fallen ill due to the cake..The commission, however, observed that it was the bakery's duty to get the cake sample tested. It also noted that it was not the bakery's case that a sample from the same batch was not available with them to test the same. The commission faulted the bakery for merely denying the allegations instead of getting the samples tested..The commission also noted that while the bakery had provided invoices for the purchase of high-quality raw materials, all these materials were acquired after the sale of the cake in question. Consequently, the commission determined that these invoices were of no help to the bakery's defence.Additionally, the commission observed that the bakery did not accuse the complainant of any ill will. Rather, the commission noted that the complainant was a regular customer.The commission also dismissed the bakery's argument that no one else at the party had fallen ill, considering that the cake was said to have not been consumed by the others after a red dye was noticed on the cake..As a result, the commission held the bakery responsible and ordered it to refund the cost of the cake (₹3,186) along with interest. Further, the bakery was asked to pay ₹30,000 for indulging in unfair trade practices. Of this amount ₹20,000 was to be paid to the Poor Patient Welfare Fund (PPWF) and ₹10,000 was to be paid to the complainant. An additional amount of ₹10,000 was ordered to be paid to the complainant for mental distress, agony, and litigation expenses, bringing the total amount payable as costs and compensation by the bakery to ₹40,000. Ravinder Singh appeared as the authorised representative of the complainant, whereas advocate Jatin Sehrawat appeared for Nik Baker's..[Read Order]