Why This Matters to Distributors: The federal action against Gold Star Distribution follows an FDA inspection that documented extensive pest activity and sanitation problems at a warehouse handling food, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and pet food. The case shows the potential consequences when distributors fail to address warehouse sanitation and product-storage problems.
The federal government has sued Minneapolis-based Gold Star Distribution Inc. and its owner after an FDA inspection documented rodents, birds, animal waste, and other sanitation problems at the company’s warehouse.
The United States filed the lawsuit Sept. 11 in federal court in Minnesota against Gold Star. The government is seeking a court order to stop violations of federal food and drug requirements, according to the federal court docket.
The lawsuit follows an FDA inspection of Gold Star’s warehouse at 1000 Humboldt Ave. N. in Minneapolis in late 2025. The FDA described the operation as a multi-commodity warehouse storing products including food and beverages, infant formula, cosmetics, pet food, and medical products.
FDA inspectors documented extensive evidence of rodent activity. The agency’s inspection report describes live rodents, dead rodents, apparent rodent droppings, urine stains, gnawed packaging, and nesting material in the facility. Inspectors also documented apparent rodent activity around rice and other food products.
The FDA also documented bird activity and apparent bird waste in areas where products were stored.
Gold Star announced a broad recall Dec. 26, 2025, covering FDA-regulated products held at the facility, including drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, dietary supplements, human food, and pet food. The FDA said the recall involved potential Salmonella contamination, rodent and bird contamination, and unsanitary storage conditions.
The FDA said it determined that the warehouse had rodent waste, rodent urine, and bird droppings in areas where regulated products were stored. The agency said the conditions created a risk that products could have been contaminated with filth or harmful microorganisms. No illnesses had been reported when the recall was announced.
The FDA’s original recall notice lists affected retailers primarily in Minnesota and identifies locations in Indianapolis and Fargo, North Dakota.
Separate FDA records show Gold Star recalled medical devices including bandages and first-aid kits, toothbrushes, pregnancy tests, and feminine hygiene products. The FDA records cite potential exposure to rodents and rodent activity at the distribution center as the reason for those recalls.
The problems documented in 2025 were not the company’s first involving federal regulators.
In 2018, the FDA warned Gold Star after an inspection found what the agency described as serious violations of federal food-safety requirements at the same Minneapolis warehouse. The agency documented rodent activity and other sanitation problems and warned the company that failure to make corrections could lead to additional federal action.
The federal government filed its lawsuit eight years later. The publicly available federal docket confirms the complaint was filed Sept. 11 against Gold Star.
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