Maharashtra FDA suspends licences of 6 Mumbai food outlets over safety lapses

The FDA also issued improvement notices to six establishments as part of its ongoing food safety drive. No licence was cancelled, according to an official release.

Among those facing action were Otters Club in Bandra, Daily Fresh Bakers in Dahisar, Prince of Wales Restaurant in Khar West, Cafe Sifarish in Andheri West and a Zepto outlet in Chembur. At Otters Club, inspectors found improper food storage and maintenance-related deficiencies.

What Happened

They also found analogue paneer supplied by Punjab Sind Dairy being served as “regular paneer”. At Prince of Wales Restaurant, officials flagged shortcomings in food temperature control, storage, equipment cleaning and pest-control measures.

• The action is part of Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s “Safe Food, Safe Maharashtra” campaign, under which inspections have uncovered hygiene violations at restaurants and other food establishments across the state.

• The FDA said both were being stored above the prescribed temperatures.

• During the inspection, chilled non-vegetarian food was recorded at 9 degrees Celsius, while frozen food was stored at minus 11 degrees Celsius.

Key Details

Similar violations were detected at the Zepto outlet in Chembur.

• Despite receiving an improvement notice, the cafe failed to submit a compliance report within the stipulated period.

• Cafe Sifarish was found to have inadequate arrangements for food storage and temperature control, along with deficiencies in facilities for employees’ personal hygiene.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by India Today as more details emerge