- The AICPDF urged the Health Minister to strengthen handling of damaged and expired FMCG products
- Manufacturers should retain responsibility until unsafe products are collected and destroyed
- The federation cited Parle's policy as an example of industry-wide concerns about product returns
The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) has written to Union Health Minister J P Nadda, seeking urgent government intervention to strengthen the mechanism for handling damaged, expired and non-saleable food products across the FMCG supply chain.
In its letter dated Sept. 2, AICPDF said manufacturers should retain primary responsibility for products they introduce into the market until those products either reach consumers safely or are collected, withdrawn and destroyed if they become damaged, expired or unfit for sale.
The distributors' body argued that commercial return policies or expiry of claim periods should not result in unsafe food being left without an accountable route for disposal.
Parle Policy Cited As Example Of Wider Industry Issue
AICPDF clarified that its grievance is not against Parle Products or any individual company, but said Parle's recent damage and market-return policy was an example of a broader industry-wide concern.
According to the federation, the policy includes restrictions on damage claims after 90 days and excludes confectionery from normal market returns under specified conditions.
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AICPDF said the key issue is what happens to damaged or expired products once a commercial claim is rejected or the claim period expires.
"The claim may expire; the responsibility to ensure that unsafe food does not reach the consumer cannot expire," the federation said in the letter.
It added that FMCG companies follow varying commercial policies for damaged and expired products, creating the need for a common and accountable regulatory framework.
AICPDF Flags Jaipur, Navi Mumbai Cases
The federation also referred to recent enforcement actions in Jaipur and Navi Mumbai to highlight the risks posed by expired food products remaining in, or finding their way back into, the market.
It said authorities in Jaipur reportedly seized and destroyed around 1.5 lakh kg of expired food products after alleged attempts to erase expiry dates and prepare products for resale.
In Navi Mumbai, it cited a recent Maharashtra FDA and police action involving the alleged alteration of manufacturing and expiry dates on packaged food products. Expired and other food products valued at over Rs 75 lakh were seized, according to the letter.
AICPDF said such instances underline the need for effective identification, segregation, traceability and destruction of expired products.
Federation Seeks Uniform Mandatory SOP
AICPDF has requested the Health Ministry and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to examine the existing system governing damaged, expired and non-saleable products across the FMCG supply chain.
It has sought a uniform and mandatory standard operating procedure (SOP) under which such products are immediately identified and segregated, tracked batch-wise, withdrawn from saleable inventory, collected through an accountable mechanism and safely destroyed.
The federation has also called for documented proof of destruction and safeguards to ensure such products cannot re-enter the consumer market.
Among its other requests, AICPDF has asked the government to establish clear primary responsibility on manufacturers for collection and destruction, introduce batch-level traceability and authorised destruction certification, and examine existing FMCG company policies from a consumer-safety perspective.
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It has also sought directions requiring manufacturers, wherever necessary, to revisit, revise and publish their policies governing damaged stock, expiry and destruction.
AICPDF said the issue should be treated primarily as a public-health and consumer-safety concern rather than a dispute over distributor margins or recovery of damaged-stock value.
"The consumer cannot be made the final checkpoint of food safety," the federation said, urging the government to establish a national mechanism ensuring damaged, expired or unsafe products are systematically withdrawn and destroyed before they can reach consumers.
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