The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday suspended the licences of popular Colaba eatery Cafe Mondegar and three other food establishments in Mumbai following inspections that revealed serious violations of food safety and hygiene standards.
Officials inspected Cafe Mondegar, located at Metro House in Colaba, on September 12 and identified several lapses, according to an FDA release. These included failing to maintain hot food at the prescribed temperature of above 60 degrees Celsius and keeping cold storage at the required temperature of below 5 degrees Celsius. The FDA also took action against three other establishments, Maharashtra Biryani Centre in Kandivali East, Tribhuvan Dairy Farm in Ghatkopar West and Mahavir Cashew & Foods Pvt Ltd in Ghatkopar East, by suspending their licences after inspections detected violations of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Act. Schedule 4 specifies the compulsory hygiene and sanitation standards that food business operators are required to follow. The food regulator also launched an operation against banned food products in Jalna district, resulting in the seizure of goods worth Rs 1.35 crore. In association with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the FDA also held a special training programme titled ‘Sweetness of Modak, with the Assurance of Food Safety’ for representatives of around 110 self-help groups engaged in preparing modaks.
The inspection also revealed improper methods of thawing food, inadequate rapid cooling of cooked items, and sanitation and structural shortcomings that could increase the risk of cross-contamination. Under its new commissioner, Tukaram Mundhe, the Maharashtra FDA has stepped up enforcement efforts against food safety violations, adulteration and lapses in hygiene standards.
