Aleppo Destroys 5 Tonnes of Expired Baby Milk Meant for Relabeling With Forged Dates

What happened in Aleppo?

Aleppo's Directorate of Internal Trade, the local authority responsible for market and food-safety inspections in this northern Syrian city, reported the destruction of roughly 5 tonnes of expired baby milk. The quantity had been seized earlier inside a warehouse in the governorate, though the statement did not specify when the seizure took place or who owns the facility.

The destruction follows the completion of regulatory procedures on the seized goods, a standard step to ensure that unsafe products cannot re-enter the supply chain.

Expired milk relabeled with forged dates

According to the directorate, the milk was not simply being stored past its expiry date. It was in the process of being recycled and repackaged with new, forged expiry dates, in preparation for returning it to store shelves as if it were a valid product.

This type of tampering is especially dangerous because infant formula is consumed by an age group entirely dependent on adult judgment, and a falsified expiry date leaves families with no reliable way to distinguish safe product from spoiled goods.

What this means for Syrian families

The case underlines the importance of checking expiry dates and their printing quality on infant formula packaging before purchase, especially when buying in bulk or from unfamiliar outlets. The fraud targeted the date itself, meaning appearance alone cannot confirm a product is safe.

Notably, the announcement made no mention of any arrests or of identifying the warehouse owners, leaving open the question of how the quantity entered local circulation in the first place.

• Check expiry dates and print quality on formula packaging before buying.
• The seized milk was set for resale under forged dates, so appearance alone is not enough.
• No arrests or ownership details have been announced so far.

The role of internal trade directorates in market oversight

Syria's internal trade directorates are the bodies tasked with supervising markets and warehouses, verifying food safety and proper handling of goods. They have the authority to seize violating products, refer cases to the relevant authorities, and carry out destruction once procedures are complete.

This operation illustrates that oversight function: catching attempts to recycle expired goods before they reach consumers, then physically destroying them to close the loop.

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