Mumbai: FDA suspends licences of seven food establishments over safety lapses

It is no longer just a warning on the wall or another improvement notice for food businesses in Mumbai The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration FDA has begun handing out suspension orders when serious foodsafety lapses remain unresolvedThe latest crackdown has seen seven Mumbai food establishments face suspension of their food licences or registration with inspectors flagging everything from pest infestation and poor temperature control to crosscontamination risks and repeated failure to rectify earlier deficienciesThe FDA has been in the news since IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe took charge as its commissioner in May and launched a crackdown on food establishments found violating various laws and rulesMcDonaldrsquos employees seen handling food after touching cleaning cloths Officials find oldnoncompliant cooking equipment in a Malad restaurant PicsBy Special ArrangementlsquoWe follow food quality standardsrsquoFollowing the FDArsquos action McDonaldrsquos India released a statement sayingldquoAt McDonaldrsquos we take pride in maintaining high food safety standards across our restaurants and have a zerotolerance approach to food safety issues We respect the regulatory process and are reviewing the observations referenced in the report McDonaldrsquos follows rigorous food quality safety and hygiene standards in line with regulatory requirements including the use of real cheese and real paneer in our food We believe it is important that our practices are accurately understood and represented Our focus remains on delivering the quality and experience expected from us every day Customers have always been welcome to take a kitchen tour and learn more about our food preparation practicesrdquoPoor personal hygieneBajrang Sweet Mart Santacruz scored only 40 out of 86 points or 47 per cent with damaged flooring peeling plaster corroded equipment inadequate storage poor personalhygiene facilities and deficient food testing recordsAt ASM Hotels and Hospitality Services Pvt Ltd Andheri West the FDA found violations of prescribed Schedule4 requirements relating to hygiene food handling storage and maintenance resulting in suspension of its food business licenceThe action is part of a larger twoday drive Across Maharashtra the FDA inspected 89 hotels restaurants and dhabas issued 71 improvement notices and suspended 13 food licencesKhar GymkhanaAt Khar Gymkhana inspectors found inadequate storage poor kitchen hygiene improper segregation of raw and cooked food lack of hot water for utensil washing unsafe thawing of frozen food noncompliance with FIFOFEFO inadequate temperature control and missing grease and cockroach traps Its registration certificate was suspendedFDA finds 18 deficienciesDuring a reinspection on August 19 at the McDonaldrsquos kiosk operated by Hardcastle Restaurants at Metro House Colaba 18 of the 20 deficiencies pointed out in an earlier ldquoImprovement Noticerdquo had still not been rectifiedThe FDA also found uncalibrated refrigeration equipment live cockroaches food waste near foodhandling areas unprotected light fixtures and employees handling readytoeat food after touching dirty footwear and cleaning cloths Following this its FSSAI licence was suspendedlsquoSerious deficienciesrsquoThe FDA also took action against Ingenious Kitchens Pvt Ltd Novaara Malad where 14 of 25 ldquoserious deficienciesrdquo remained unresolved during a reinspection Officials cited oldnoncompliant cooking equipment absence of grease and cockroach traps deficient medical examination records and food safety training and certification documentationCrosscontamination riskAt Status Restaurant in Nariman Point the action followed a consumer complaint Inspectors found an employee washing his face over clean utensils splashing wastewater onto them along with dirty cutlery stagnant water heavy grease corrosion food waste and inadequate temperature monitoring Raw cooked vegetarian and nonvegetarian food was also not properly segregated creating a crosscontamination risk