FDA suspends licences of 5 restaurants at Mumbai Cricket Association premises over hygiene violations

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food licences of five outlets at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) premises over alleged violations of food safety and hygiene norms.

The action followed inspections that flagged deficiencies in food handling, storage, refrigeration, sanitation and temperature control. The move is part of a wider statewide crackdown led by FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe to ensure compliance with food safety standards.

According to PTI, the FDA has suspended the licences of 11 food establishments across Maharashtra as part of the drive. Officials inspected 45 hotels, restaurants, eateries and dhabas, issued improvement notices to 33 establishments and conducted 25 raids.

The five MCA outlets facing action are Permit Room, Pavilion, Mediterranean, Oriental Swing, and Clubway & Pastry Counter. FDA officials inspected the outlets on August 20 and reported several hygiene and food safety deficiencies.

What did the FDA find at MCA outlets?

At Permit Room, inspectors found ice accumulation inside a kitchen refrigerator, an unclean and slippery floor near the kitchen entrance, inadequate temperature control, deteriorated raw materials and deficiencies in food storage and handling. The outlet also lacked conformity certificates for food-contact packaging and did not conduct regular cooking-oil quality checks.

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

At Mediterranean, the FDA flagged inadequate sanitisation of food equipment, improper cooling, poor portioning, inadequate thawing of frozen food, insufficient temperature controls and deficiencies in handling raw materials and packaging.

Oriental Swing 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 shortcomings in temperature and cooking-oil quality checks.

At Clubway & Pastry Counter, inspectors reported inadequate workspace, improper storage of raw food, a lack of gloves for a food handler and insufficient measures to prevent dust, dirt and insects from entering the food preparation area.

Other eateries face action

The statewide drive also covered Lenexis Foodworks in Mahim, Café Cadell in Shivaji Park, China Town Fast Food Centre in Mulund, Morya Misal in Warje and Saoji Upahar Gruh in Nagpur.

The FDA immediately suspended China Town Fast Food Centre’s registration after finding excessive use of artificial colour and MSG, repeated use of highly oxidised cooking oil, cockroach infestation, unhygienic food storage, potential cross-contamination between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food and inadequate drainage.

The licence of Morya Misal in Pune was also suspended after inspectors found artificial colouring in food and the storage and use of expired food products.