Unhygienic kitchens, unauthorised colours: Mumbai FDA cracks down on food establishments

Arabian Shawarma Cafe And Fast Food in Borivli was among the eateries whose license was suspended. PIC/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licences of four Mumbai food establishments over unhygienic conditions. The agency also seized colour-laced snacks in Kandivli and banned pan masala in Sakinaka, as part of a statewide drive announced by FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe.

Licenses suspended

The action hit Nair on Fire cloud kitchen in Mahim, Arabian Shawarma Cafe and Fast Food in Borivli, and Nath Fast Food. Bikaner Sweets And Namkin was served a notice to close business after inspectors found unclean kitchens and drains, rusted racks and utensils, incomplete temperature records, and workers without medical certificates. It was also found that pav which had been returned was mixed with fresh pav, and unauthorised colours were being used in sweets.

Edibles seized, destroyed

On October 15, an FDA team seized wafers, garlic sev, peanut bhujia, and schezwan sticks worth '22,045 - suspected to contain colouring - from Shree Sadguru Foods in Kandivli East. Meanwhile, jalebi and maharaja halwa worth '3150, in which colouring was found, were seized and destroyed on the spot at Shree Ganesh Farsan And Sweet Mart in Kandivli West.

Pan masala seized

At Sakinaka, prohibited pan masala stock worth '7.06 lakh was seized along with a tempo valued at '3 lakh. A case has been registered against Uday Sundar Yadav, a Sakinaka resident, at MIDC police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Food Safety and Standards Act.

For complaints

Citizens can file complaints on the toll-free number 1800222365 or on the complaints.mahafda.in web portal.

Wider action

Across Maharashtra, goods worth about '3.11 crore were seized, including 32,061 litres of edible oil and 37,128 kg of other food stock.
Raid details…

Parbhani (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar)
Food items seized: 11,390 kg
Sev/farsan seized: 22,550 kg
Total value: Rs 87.52 lakh

Jalna
Pan masala and scented tobacco seized
Total value: Rs 83.35lakh (including vehicle carrying goods)

Pune
Paneer seized 9000 kg
Khoya seized 440kg
Edible oil seized 9888 litres
Smaller seizures of oil, khoya, and bhagar were also made in Nagpur and Ahilyanagar.

Bhiwandi (Viraj Enterprises)
Edible oil seized 11,779 litres
Tea seized 2850 kg
Total value: Rs 1.27 cr