Indian authorities raid Mumbai warehouse accused of relabelling food products for export

Navi Mumbai, India. Indian food safety authorities have raided a warehouse accused of changing expiry dates and nutritional information on original food products made by PepsiCo, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Unilever for export. Goods valued at nearly $80,000 were seized during a six-day investigation.

Investigation and seizure

Reuters was granted exclusive access to the warehouse last week while food officers conducted the investigation. A Reuters photographer saw chemicals used to remove original expiry dates and ingredient labels, machines to print and apply replacement labels, and packs of labels for products including Lay’s potato chips and Maggi noodles.

The warehouse is in an industrial area of Navi Mumbai, about 25 kilometres from Mumbai’s international airport. It has four large rooms beneath a tin roof and is operated by privately owned Sadhana Enterprises.

Allegations of export fraud

The owner of Sadhana Enterprises said the activities were carried out on behalf of 19 little-known exporters, according to a Maharashtra state media release and a police case document.

Officials said most of the products were expired or close to expiry. The police document said that by changing the dates, “harmful food products are being exported for sale, thereby defrauding customers”.

It was not clear which countries were intended to receive the products, although all stock was designated for export, Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration head Tukaram Mundhe said. Reuters found at least one reprinted label on a PepsiCo packet in English and French.

State food safety campaign

Maharashtra, whose capital is Mumbai, has intensified food safety enforcement under Mundhe. His surprise inspections at elite clubs and restaurants have made him an online and television personality.

“I am absolutely shocked by the scale. It is like organised activity. It’s been done systematically,” Mundhe told Reuters on Tuesday.

PepsiCo, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, the India unit of Unilever, and Coca-Cola did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Calls by Reuters to warehouse co-owners Jayprakash Sanchatiram Singh and Jaya Navrang Bahadur Singh were not answered. It was not clear whether any arrests had been made.