Maharashtra FDA suspends licences of 17 Mumbai eateries over hygiene violations

Hygiene lapses spotted during FDA inspections at Hotel Theresa in Dharavi and a Domino’s outlet in Borivli. Pics/Special Arrangement

In a festive season crackdown on unhygienic eateries, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licences and registrations of 17 food establishments across Mumbai. These include three Domino's outlets in Parel, Marol in Andheri East, and Link Road in Borivli West, along with Instakart Services Pvt Ltd in Lower Parel.

Pest menace

Surprise inspections and follow-up checks exposed serious hygiene lapses, including:
. Live cockroach infestations Food packages chewed on by mice/rat
. Total lack of pest control measures
. Repeated reuse of burnt oil
. Dirty and uncalibrated refrigerators
. Cooked food stored alongside raw non-vegetarian stock

Other establishments facing action:

Santacruz West: Carnival by Tresind
Khar West: Hundo Pizza and Rajasthan Restaurant
Bandra West: The Penang Table
Juhu: Jay Kalyan Canteen
Malad West: Sweet Knife Resto
Andheri West: Darjeeling Lepcha Momos and Trupti Farsan
Sewri: Thanksgiving Patisserie
Versova: Sahil Hotel
Kandivli West: Aashirwad Super Store
Govandi: Amina Hotel
Dharavi: Hotel Theresa

Local action
Four eateries in Kandivli - Banarasi Hindu Hotel, Kavita Caterers, Atharva University Canteen and Zaika King Shawarma - were fined a total of Rs 1.30 lakh. A vendor in Malad East was booked under an FIR for stocking prohibited gutka and tobacco products.

Strict warning

Tukaram Mundhe, FDA Commissioner
"Food business operators who play with the health of citizens will not be spared, and strict action against such establishments will continue unabated."

Statewide raids

Beyond Mumbai, FDA teams seized 24,406 kg of suspected substandard, unsafe and mislabelled food stocks worth Rs 50.19 lakh across Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
The FDA suspended the licences of two edible oil repacking units - Orgisattva Foods in Chikalthana and Jyotirling Foods in Waluj - after seizing 17,784 kg of substandard oil worth R39.15 lakh stored in rusted iron tanks.

Pune and Sangli
Raids led to the seizure of sweets, banana wafers, chakli, bhagar and sabudana worth R4.46 lakh over synthetic food colour violations and missing laboratory tests.

Nashik and Nagpur
Officers seized 940 kg of sweet halwa and bhagar worth R2.64 lakh in Nashik, while 978 kg of unsafe arecanut (betel nut or supari) pieces worth Rs 3.91 lakh were seized in Nagpur.