Expired and nearly expired food products carrying altered expiry dates and nutrition labels were found at a warehouse in Navi Mumbai during a six-day investigation by Maharashtra food safety officials.
The operation involved original products from major brands including PepsiCo, Nestle, Unilever and Coca-Cola, with officials finding chemicals allegedly used to erase dates from packaging and machines to print replacement labels.
Reuters, which got access to the warehouse during the investigation, reported that authorities seized goods worth nearly $80,000 from the facility.
The warehouse, operated by privately owned Sadhana Enterprises, was located in an industrial area of Navi Mumbai, around 25 km from Mumbai’s international airport.
Officials found nearly 5,000 cartons of consumer products inside four rooms at the facility.
These included PepsiCo’s Lay’s and Kurkure chips, Nestle’s Maggi Masala Noodles, Unilever’s Knorr Mushroom Soup and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Coca-Cola’s Thums Up and Limca cans.
Many of the Kurkure and Maggi packets, along with Thums Up cans, reportedly had their original dates removed.
Officials said most of the products were either expired or close to expiry.
The operation allegedly involved removing the original manufacturing and expiry dates before printing new information in their place.
A chemical solvent found inside the warehouse was identified by officials as being used to erase dates from the food packaging.
According to the police case document, an operator would enter new manufacturing and expiry dates using a stylus on a computer. Workers would then allegedly use a machine to print the replacement information onto the packets and cans.
The police document said the original manufacturing and expiry information had been scratched out or erased before new details were printed over them.
Officials also found examples of products carrying information that appeared to have been changed to make them suitable for export.
The alleged changes were not limited to manufacturing and expiry dates.
Reuters found dozens of Maggi cartons at the warehouse, including one sample with a fake nutrition label pasted over the original packaging. The label described the product as a “Product of India” for export.
A PepsiCo Kurkure pack had a bilingual nutrition label in English and French.
The altered label on the Kurkure pack reportedly reduced the stated quantity of cereal products in the ingredients by 10%. It also changed the number of calories and serving size, apparently to align the product information with regulations in foreign markets.
Officials also found products carrying manufacturing dates that had not yet arrived. Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration chief Tukaram Mundhe told Reuters that some packs had been reprinted with a manufacturing date of October 2, 2026.
The authorities said the stock found at the warehouse was meant for export, although it was not immediately clear which countries the products were destined for.
At least one replacement PepsiCo label seen by Reuters was printed in English and French, suggesting that some products were being prepared for overseas markets.
The owner of Sadhana Enterprises told authorities that the activities were being carried out on behalf of 19 little-known exporters, according to a state media release and police case document.
The police case has not accused any of the global food companies whose products were found at the warehouse of wrongdoing.
Mundhe, who heads Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration, described the scale of the operation as shocking and said it appeared to be systematic.
He also called for greater accountability across the supply chain.
“Everybody needs to take this seriously,” Mundhe told Reuters, adding that companies need to ensure branding, packaging and sale of products comply with regulations.
The raid comes as Maharashtra steps up food safety inspections under Mundhe, whose surprise inspections at restaurants and clubs have drawn significant public attention.
Food safety enforcement in India has traditionally focused heavily on issues such as adulteration, particularly during periods when demand for food products rises.
In this case, however, officials uncovered an operation allegedly focused on changing information on packaged products before they were sent outside the country.