Grocery guidelines

Product requirements

• Food must be properly prepared, packaged, sealed, and labeled.

• You must be licensed, or have approval from the relevant government agency for the products you plan to sell.

• You must ensure your products and business operations comply with federal and state laws. This includes laws not described in Amazon policies.

• Sell all Grocery & Gourmet Food products as new. You cannot list used products. See the Condition guidelines.

• Food is viewed as date-sensitive. It must have an expiration date permanently marked on every unit, unless the product is exempt. This includes every unit that is shipped, and every unit displayed for sale.

• Label in English all products covered by federal, state, and local laws. For federal labeling policies, see the FDA Food Labeling and Nutrition, FDA Pet Food, and USDA Label Approval web pages.

• Enclose and seal food in packaging suitable for shipping. It must keep food from contamination, spoiling, melting, and damage.

• You must ship food with enough of its shelf life remaining. You must not remove or alter the expiration date.

• When you sell products in multi-packs, the expiration date on the multi-pack packaging must match the earliest expiration date of the products inside.

• You must list Grocery & Gourmet Food products using the manufacturer's UPC code. For more information, see Product UPCs and GTINs. For information on listing products without UPCs, see Amazon Brand Registry.

Refrigerated, frozen, and temperature-controlled food, and raw agricultural commodities

• You must enclose and seal refrigerated food, frozen food, and raw agricultural commodities in packaging suitable for shipping. Packaging must keep temperatures safe for the product throughout delivery. Temperature limits are shown in the table below.

• Some foods need to be temperature-controlled for quality and performance. Chocolate could melt. Vitamin D supplements' potency could be affected. You must control temperature to meet quality and performance standards.

• Raw agricultural commodities that do not have an expiration date must have an acceptable shelf life. They must meet quality standards for ripeness and stopping mold, pests, or contamination.

FBA guidelines

Expiration dates

• To be eligible for FBA, food and beverage products and products that ship with food or beverages must be lot-controlled and have a minimum remaining shelf life that is greater than 90 days.

• Items within 50 days of the expiration date at the time of arrival will be marked for disposal by Amazon. Inventory subject to disposal cannot be returned to you.

• Keep the Fulfilment Center (FC) shelf life details up to date for grocery products. In the inventory file template, set the value of the is_expiration_dated_product field to "true". The FC shelf life is the length of time a product is sellable or fit to be eaten.

• When shipping expiration-dated inventory to Amazon, each box must only contain ASINs with a single expiration date. Multiple ASINs can be shipped in the same box only if all of the ASINs in the box have the same expiration date.

• All expiration-dated products must have the expiration date printed in a font that is 36 point or larger. All case packs, multi-packs, and display boxes must have the expiration date on the box or bundle, as well as on each individual item inside the box or bundle.

• Expiration dates must be displayed in the format MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY. If the expiration date is in a different format, you must cover the existing date with a printed label with the expiration date in the correct format. Lot numbers alone are insufficient.

• Any printed manufactured date must be covered with a label with the expiration date in the correct format. Failure to cover the manufactured date on a product may cause delays in receiving your products, or may cause your products to be received as expired.

• Expiration-dated products that require additional prep, such as poly bagging or bubble wrap, must have labels with expiration dates in 36-point font or larger applied to the outside of the product prep or packaging.

Meltable Products

• FBA accepts products that are subject to melting between October 1 and April 30 of each calendar year. Any meltable inventory in our fulfilment centers after May 1 is marked as unfulfillable and disposed of. Meltable inventory that arrives at fulfillment centers between May 1 and September 30 is marked as unfulfillable and disposed of.

• Box markings must not display storage temperature requirements unless those requirements explicitly specify a range of 50-120°F.

• Products requiring refrigeration, air conditioning, or freezing are prohibited year round. Perishable products, including but not limited to, fresh meats, fruits, or vegetables are also prohibited throughout the year.