Maharashtra FDA makes proof of destruction mandatory for expired and returned food

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has enforced a binding order on the disposal of expired, spoiled and returned food. Under it, food business operators (FBOs) will be legally responsible for being able to prove that such stock was actually destroyed. The step has been described as the first of its kind in the country.

The order is based on Article 47 of the Constitution, which directs the state to raise the level of nutrition and protect public health. Its aim is to close the gaps through which discarded or rejected stock found its way back into the retail market.

FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said, "Business will be shut down immediately and criminal proceedings will follow over disposal without verification and illegal diversion of supply."

Under the new rules issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, showing only disposal invoices or commercial contracts will no longer be enough. Every operator must create a separate, locked quarantine section within its warehouse premises, where expired stock and stock returned by customers is kept apart.

Disposal can now be done only through vendors approved by the Pollution Control Board (PCB). Operators must keep a continuous, verifiable record of the full custody of the stock. This includes weighbridge slips, vehicle tracking logs, e-way bills, and time-stamped video and photo evidence of the food actually being destroyed. The rules also cover analogue paneer and dairy substitutes.

The order follows action taken over about a fortnight in Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune. FDA squads acted against ten large distribution centres, cold storage units and supply points. A nexus between large logistics hubs and operators of sham disposal was reportedly uncovered. Spoiled stock worth more than Rs 5 crore (Rs 5,00,14,040) was seized. Six licences were suspended immediately, formal suspension orders were issued for two more, and two criminal FIRs were registered.

Investigators found clear irregularities in the raids. In some cases the sender and the receiver of the goods turned out to be the same. Entries for destroying goods in another state showed impossible routes covered in a single day. Spoiled stock was sent to agencies that did not exist.

The action covered several well-known companies and quick-commerce firms. Licence suspension and a police FIR followed against Blinkit (Blink Commerce Pvt Ltd) in Bhiwandi and Cloudstore Retail in Padgha, because inspectors found thousands of expired units and no valid log of their disposal. The licence of Savla Foods, a cold storage company in Turbhe, was suspended immediately; more than 91,000 kg of expired and wrongly labelled dry fruits and spices worth Rs 4.12 crore were seized there. Licences of Zomato Hyperpure hubs in Bhiwandi and Ambernath were also suspended over hygiene lapses and discard records that could not be traced.