Cockroaches, Expired Food at Amazon Warehouse? Maharashtra FDA Raid Raises Food Safety Alarm

Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a major food-safety crackdown. The action targets an Amazon warehouse for allegedly selling expired products, a case now in court. Wider inspections across the state revealed severe hygiene violations at a Blinkit facility, leading to its license suspension.

A food-safety controversy has erupted in Maharashtra after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took action against an Amazon Retail India warehouse in Bhiwandi over allegations involving expired food products. The FDA alleged that expired food items were being sent into the retail market instead of being destroyed, prompting action against the facility and a subsequent legal challenge by Amazon.

The matter reached the Bombay High Court after Amazon challenged the suspension of its warehouse licence. On Monday, the court directed Amazon Retail India to prepare an inventory of all expired and perished goods at the Bhiwandi facility and hand them over to the FDA for scientific disposal. Amazon was also directed to bear the cost of disposal. The FDA has been asked to file its response to Amazon's plea by August 27.

The court's latest direction follows an earlier reprimand of the FDA over its action against the warehouse. The regulator had allegedly suspended the facility's licence after an inspection on June 24 and later cancelled the licence while proceedings were underway. The legal proceedings are now examining the circumstances and procedure surrounding the FDA's action.

The Amazon case comes as Maharashtra's food-safety regulator intensifies inspections across the state. The FDA's wider crackdown between August 6 and 9 covered establishments involved in manufacturing, storing, distributing and selling food products. According to Mid-Day, the operation involved dairy products, edible oil, packaged drinking water, bakery products, jaggery, paneer and other food items.

Rs 1.54 Crore Oil Seized, Cockroaches Found At Blinkit

The wider crackdown has produced several startling findings. Mid-Day reported that the FDA seized more than 1.19 lakh kg of edible oil worth Rs 1.54 crore during inspections of five manufacturing and repacking units in Beed. Twenty-seven samples were sent for laboratory testing. At one facility, officials allegedly found reused tins and oil from the same tank being packed and sold under labels including “Refined” and “Ultra Refined”.

In Mumbai, the FDA also suspended the food licence of a Blink Commerce facility in Malad West after an inspection reportedly found severe hygiene and storage violations. Officials cited a widespread cockroach infestation, food stored directly on the floor, rusty racks, poorly maintained cold-storage areas and expired or tampered packaging. The inspection also flagged inadequate pest control, waste-management problems and shortcomings in the hygiene records and protective equipment provided to food handlers.

Large numbers of cockroaches were reportedly found around fruit and vegetable stocks, raising concerns about possible contamination. The FDA suspended the facility's licence under Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and barred it from conducting food-related business until further orders.

The crackdown has extended beyond Mumbai and Beed. In Jalgaon, the FDA seized 87,320 litres of packaged drinking water, while action was taken against food businesses in Nagpur, Kolhapur and other locations over alleged labelling, hygiene and product-quality violations. The department has advised consumers to check the FSSAI number, manufacturing date, batch number, expiry date and mandatory labelling before purchasing packaged food and edible oil.

The Amazon case is now under judicial scrutiny, while the broader FDA operation highlights growing regulatory attention on how food is manufactured, stored and eventually reaches consumers.