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.
According to an FDA release, officials inspected Cafe Mondegar, located at Metro House in Colaba, on September 12 and identified several lapses. 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 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.
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.
Under its new commissioner, Tukaram Mundhe, the Maharashtra FDA has stepped up enforcement efforts against food safety violations, adulteration and lapses in hygiene standards.
Mundhe and his team have stepped up inspections and raids at restaurants, eateries, hotels and sweet shops across Maharashtra during the ongoing Ganpati Utsav.
Earlier on Tuesday, the FDA confiscated 30 litres of liquid milk along with 4,138.7 kg of dairy and sweet products, including khoya, paneer, ghee, peda, halwa, shrikhand, butter and milk powder. The seized items were valued at more than Rs 15.5 lakh across the state.
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.
Ahead of Ganeshotsav, the FDA’s Greater Mumbai unit conducted awareness workshops for office-bearers and workers of various Ganesh mandals. The sessions focused on ensuring that prasad and mahaprasad served to devotees are prepared and distributed in a safe, hygienic and sanitary manner.
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.
Bureau Report
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