Maharashtra FDA suspends Gallops Restaurant licence; four other Mumbai establishments face action

Tukaram Mundheled Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration FDA has suspended the food licence of Gallops Restaurant situated inside Royal Western India Turf Club at Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai an official statement said on TuesdayView this post on InstagramA post shared by midday middayindiaThe suspension of Gallops comes as FDA continues its crackdown on food establishments during the festive seasonThe FDA statement said that Gallops Restaurantrsquos food licence was suspended with immediate effect after an FDA inspection found multiple food safety and hygiene violations including live cockroaches and ants blood and ketchup stains on refrigerator ice damaged food packaging and water stagnationIt said that lack of records of annual medical examinationvaccination of food handlers was among the numerous continuing violations found under lsquoSchedule 4rsquo at Mahalaxmibased Gallops RestaurantFour other Mumbai establishments face action by FDAThe Maharashtra FDA has also suspended the licence of four other Mumbaibased establishments These includeGurukrupa Dairy Products in Malad East FDA officials seized approximately 246405 kg of adulterated and mislabelled ghee refined sunflower oil and vanaspati along with machinery The total value of the seized stock and equipment from Gurukrupa Dairy was approximately Rs 1516 lakhGufran Seekh Corner in Versova Officials found that the establishment was operating without a valid food licence or registration As per the officials ldquonumerous provisions under lsquoSchedule 4rsquo were violated including testing of potable water proper storage and segregation of food itemsrdquoDreamer Hospitality Pvt Ltd in Bandra West FDA said that inspections at the Bandrabased food establishments found violations of hygiene and healthrelated provisions under Schedule 4 with further legal action being initiatedMirari in Bandra West As per the Maharashtra food regulator the restaurant was found violating provisions under lsquoSchedule 4rsquoOil and Ghee worth Rs 1515 lakh seized in MaladIn Malad East the Maharashtra FDA seized approximately 4646 kg of adulterated and mislabelled ghee refined sunflower oil and vanaspati worth Rs 1515 lakh from Ms Gurukrupa Dairy Products on Pandit Solitary LaneView this post on InstagramA post shared by midday middayindiaAccording to the FDA the products were being sold under the misleading label ldquoPooja Gheerdquo The action was part of the departmentrsquos ongoing festiveseason crackdown on suspected adulteration misbranding and substandard food productsFDA seize over 10800 kglitres of illegal food stockAmid the festive crackdown the statewide operation by the FDA resulted in the seizure of approximately 1083665 kglitres of food stock valued at over Rs 3081 lakhAs per the official statement from FDA the seized material included khawa mawa peda ghee oil barfi tea powder sweets and other dairy productsIn the Pune division action was taken against establishments in Sangli Pune and Kolhapur with stocks including jaggery peda besan laddu khoya modak ghee skimmedmilk powder and paneer seized on suspicion of being substandardFDA action on sweet shops in PuneSwanand Sweets and Dairy in Laxmi Nagar Officials seized 145 kg of loose khoya worth Rs 58000 14 kg of cow ghee worth Rs 11018 165 kg of desi ghee worth Rs 137 lakh and 524 kg of Kanhaiyabrand skimmedmilk powder worth Rs 189 lakhPlaza Sweets in Jagtap Nagar Wanowrie FDA officials seized 11 kg of peda worth Rs 7040 and 8 kg of besan laddu worth Rs 2560Suraj Sweets on Shivarkar Road Wanowrie Officials seized 39 kg of khoya worth Rs 21840 and 24 kg of modak worth Rs 15360 both suspected to be substandardShiv Dairy on BT Kawade Road As per the official note FDA seized 725 kg of ghee worth Rs 5800 over suspected substandard qualityOverall the four Pune establishments accounted for approximately 934 kg of seized food products worth Rs 497 lakh according to the FDAs detailed reportTea powder worth Rs 675 lakh seized by FDA in NagpurThe Nagpur division also saw action against several establishments by the Maharashtra FDA At a godown belonging to Ashok Agro Products in Chandrapur FDA officials seized 3310 kg of tea powder worth Rs 675 lakh on suspicion that it was unsafe or substandardThe FDA said the intensive drive was being conducted during the festive season to ensure that safe and quality food products are available to consumers and to take action against suspected adulteration mislabelling and unsafe food practices