Maharashtra FDA suspends licenses of seven restaurants including Ottoman Cafe and Bharat Canteen for food safety violations | Today’s news
The Tukaram Mundhe-led Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licenses or registrations of seven food businesses in Mumbai following recent raids that found violations of food safety norms. Restaurants that have faced FDA action include Mumbai Darbar Family Restaurant in Lower Parel, Ottoman Cafe in Andheri West, Chacha Eagle Kulfi Falooda in Jogeshwari West, Bharat Canteen in Andheri West, Green Turtle Hospitality in Oshiwara, Atul Tiffin in Byculla and PB Enterprises in Sewri West.
What the FDA raids found
The action came after they were found to be in breach of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration) Regulations 2011 during raids carried out on 23 and 24 October. These included unhygienic kitchens and sewage systems, improper storage of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, use of unauthorized food dyes and non-existence of medical certificates for food establishments.
Read also | The FDA cracked down on Reliance Warehouse, a facility linked to Blinkit
In addition, the FDA also seized around 43.56 tonnes of food stock and 719.2 liters of milk and ghee, aggregating ₹1.56 crore, during the nationwide drive, officials said on Saturday.
The seized food products were suspected to be substandard, adulterated or mislabelled.
564 liters of milk destroyed
The department also destroyed 564 liters of milk in Mumbai and suspended the licenses or registrations of several businesses for violating food safety norms.
Konkan division recorded seizure of food stocks worth 9.99 tonnes ₹53.55 lakh, while the Pune division seized 2.11 tonnes worth of food ₹7.93 crores. In Nashik, FDA seized 4,069 kg of food products and 62.2 liters of ghee worth ₹8.25 crores.
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division 26.84 tonnes worth of food ₹64 crore were seized while Nagpur division reported seizure of 883.3 kg worth of oil ₹1.77 million.
In Nanded, FDA seized 1,528 kg of refined soybean oil ₹3.05 million on suspicion of forgery.
Read also | Why did Nepal ban Priyagold biscuits? FSSAI factor explained
The FDA has also seized banned foods worth ₹19.56 lakh in Pune, ₹4.22 lakh in Mumbai and ₹19,090 in Nashik.
“In Nashik division, officials seized 2,908 kg of spices and ajwain worth ₹14.16 crore from two places. The seizure included 2,230 kg worth of spices ₹11.86 lakh in Nashik and 678 kg of ajwain value ₹2.30 lakh in Jalgaon on suspicion of wrong brand and substandard quality,” he said.
29 drug licenses revoked
The FDA also revoked 29 drug licenses and suspended 71 others across the state after a two-week inspection drive uncovered widespread violations, an official statement said Friday.
Coverage of 937 establishments, including retail chemists, blood banks and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, resulted in 450 shortage notices and seizures of illegal drugs and cosmetics worth over ₹28.52 crores.
Read also | Maha FDA suspends 892 licenses, seizes ₹50 crore of adulterated food in six months
According to the official report, the administration issued 382 notices to drug sellers after discovering deficiencies and subsequently suspended 49 licenses and revoked 22 for violating the law and rules on drugs and cosmetics.
The FDA also conducted 105 inspections of drug, cosmetic and medical device manufacturers, blood centers, blood storage centers, and drug testing laboratories. The number of checks increased from 31 in the first week to 74 in the second week.
