A Kentucky food warehouse owned by Amazon is not registered with the Food and Drug Administration. Is Amazon above the law? Amazon’s refusal to register the food warehouse is supported by Shevaun Brown, regional operations PR manager for Amazon Strategic Communication. He believes that Amazon is in the right because the warehouse is already in compliance with the commonwealth of Kentucky.
Much is at stake as Amazon refuses to register the facility. After acquiring Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion in August 2017, Amazon now oversees the distribution of vast quantities of food products. If they can push away federal food safety laws in one location, they could get legal justification to push away oversight in their other facilities.
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was put in place to prevent food borne illness before an outbreak occurs. The FDA’s enforcement helps prevent naturally-occurring outbreaks and acts of bio-terrorism carried out in the food supply. Amazon currently owns over 300,000 facilities that do comply with the FSMA. Since 2008, Amazon has been using their Kentucky warehouse as a case study to push back against the federal food safety laws. The ten-year-old dispute with the FDA continues today as the corporation refuses to register the food warehouse. The warehouse, the size of eleven football fields, distributes snack foods, pet food, candy, shelf-stable beverages, and other foods. It is located at 1850 Mercer Road in Lexington, KY.
Amazon’s Shevaun Brown asserts, “Food and product safety are top priorities for Amazon and our fulfillment centers are not only permitted by state and local health departments, but we have a robust food safety program to ensure our products are safe for our customers.” This statement does not matter, because the FSMA requires all companies that transport or store foods to register with the FDA, regardless of state or local laws.
On April 6th, 2018 the FDA sent a letter to Amazon, warning of their violation of federal law and suggesting voluntary compliance. If the FDA was dealing with an Amish man who mislabeled his local product line, FDA agents would actively seek a trial and imprisonment for the man. Can you believe the FDA put an Amish man behind bars for six years for disagreeing with the claims on his herbal salve? But if it’s Amazon they’re dealing with, the FDA carefully tiptoes around the situation for ten years and asks for voluntary compliance. Meanwhile, Amazon can distribute unregistered product that could potentially make people sick. The original warning letter was issued in July 2008 and suggested Amazon register within 30 days. According to MarketWatch, Amazon reported back to the FDA, claiming the registration is not necessary because the facility does not manufacture or process food and is not legally bound to the wording of the FSMA.
It’s sickening to see a corporate behemoth disregard federal food safety standards and oversight. This is why it is important to support smaller companies that DO comply with federal food safety guidelines. The Health Ranger store is an FDA-approved facility that undergoes strict evaluation and passes with flying colors. The organic food, clean body care, and health and wellness products at the Health Ranger Store are also lab tested for purity standards, including heavy metals analysis. The Health Ranger Store goes above and beyond to ensure both food safety and clean composition of their products. The Health Ranger Store is on a humanitarian mission, unlike Amazon, which is only interested in its bottom line, abusing and discarding employees, while putting public health at risk along the way.
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