FDA Suspends Licences of 5 Food Outlets at Mumbai Cricket Association

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food licences of five outlets at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) premises over the alleged violation of food safety norms, flagging deficiencies in food handling, storage, refrigeration and sanitation.

As part of its statewide drive, the FDA has suspended licences of 11 food establishments, including the five outlets at MCA, it said on Monday.

The FDA inspected 45 hotels, restaurants, eateries and dhabas during the drive, issued improvement notices to 33 establishments and conducted 25 raids, according to a press note.

The five MCA outlets facing action are the Permit Room, Pavilion, Mediterranean, Oriental Swing, and Clubway & Pastry Counter. The FDA inspected the outlets on August 20 and found various deficiencies related to hygiene, food handling, storage, refrigeration and sanitation.

At the Permit Room, inspectors found ice accumulation in a kitchen refrigerator, an unclean and slippery floor near the kitchen entrance, inadequate temperature control, deteriorated raw material and deficiencies in food storage and handling.

The outlet also lacked food-grade conformity certificates for food-contact packaging material and did not conduct regular checks of cooking oil.

The Pavilion faced action after inspectors found ice accumulation and unclean refrigerator components, poor segregation of food items in cold storage, inadequate refrigeration calibration, improper thawing of frozen food and shortcomings in cooling and storage practices.

At Mediterranean, the FDA found inadequate sanitisation of food equipment, improper cooling, poor portioning practices, inadequate thawing of frozen food, deficient temperature controls and shortcomings in the handling of raw materials and packaging.

The Oriental Swing outlet was found to have an improperly calibrated refrigeration system, an unclean kitchen floor, damaged plaster or paint on part of the kitchen ceiling, inadequate sanitisation and deficiencies in temperature control and oil-quality checks.

At the Clubway & Pastry Counter, the FDA found inadequate working space, improper storage of raw food, lack of hand gloves for a food handler and inadequate measures to prevent dust, dirt and insects from entering the food preparation area.

It also found that the food business was being carried out under the name of an establishment that did not have a valid food licence. The registration certificate of the outlet was subsequently suspended, the release said.

Besides the five MCA outlets, the statewide action included Lenexis Foodworks in Mahim, CafA© Cadell in Shivaji Park, China Town Fast Food Centre in Mulund, Morya Misal in Warje and Saoji Upahar Gruh in Nagpur.

The FDA suspended the registration of China Town Fast Food Centre with immediate effect after finding excessive use of artificial colour and MSG, repeated use of highly oxidised cooking oil, cockroach infestation, unhygienic food storage, a risk of cross-contamination between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food and inadequate drainage.

The FDA also suspended the licence of Morya Misal in Pune after finding artificial colouring in food, and storage and use of expired food products.

The action comes as the FDA intensifies inspections of food establishments across Maharashtra to ensure compliance with food safety and hygiene requirements.