Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 1: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licences of 31 food establishments for violating food safety and hygiene norms during a three-day statewide enforcement drive conducted from September 28 to 30.

The action followed inspections at hotels, restaurants, dhabas, clubs, bakeries and other food establishments. Of the 31 suspended licences, 12 were in Mumbai division, 12 in Konkan division, six in Pune division and one in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division.

During the drive, the FDA seized around 3,902.20 kg of suspected substandard, unsafe and misbranded food products and 617 litres of milk, with the total value estimated at Rs 16.22 lakh. The seized items included sweets, cheese, ghee, paneer, cream, almonds, skimmed milk powder, edible oils, cashews, ajwain, khoa and puffed rice.

The FDA said violations included poor sanitation, pest infestation, improper storage and handling of food, absence of medical fitness records for food handlers and failure to maintain mandatory food safety records.

In Mumbai, licences were suspended at establishments including Annadata Aahar Kendra in Khar, New English Bakery and St Philomena Bakery in Mazgaon, two Blink Commerce facilities, Radha Krishna eatery in Borivali, Sodexo India Services in Kurla, PR Jena Caterers in BKC and the canteen at Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi.

In Beed, the FDA suspended the licence of Dhole Food Products and ordered its immediate closure after finding that food products were being manufactured at a new premises without a valid licence. Stock worth Rs 1.17 lakh was seized and samples of chiwda, farsan and other products were collected for analysis.

The enforcement drive also resulted in the seizure of 430 kg of cheese allegedly being sold under the Amul brand in Pune, 18.20 kg of loose paneer in Kolhapur and 2,398 kg of skimmed milk powder worth around Rs 5.27 lakh in Ahilyanagar.

In Sangli, the FDA seized 34 kg of ghee and 119 kg of cow cream, while 423 kg of almonds were seized in Pune. Other seized products included sweets, namkeen, mustard oil, sunflower oil, loose cashews, ajwain, khoa and puffed rice.

Separately, the FDA conducted an enforcement drive against banned products such as pan masala and gutkha across five divisions. It inspected 19 establishments and detected banned products at 18 of them. Stock worth Rs 61.17 lakh and two vehicles valued at Rs 6.50 lakh were seized, taking the total value of seizures to Rs 67.67 lakh.

The FDA said 14 FIRs were registered, 18 people were arrested and 13 establishments were sealed in connection with the banned-product drive.

FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said the government was strict about the quality of food products and enforcement of food safety laws. He said legal action would continue against establishments selling or storing expired or tampered food products or preparing food in unhygienic and unsafe conditions.

The FDA also appealed to food business operators across the state to comply with prescribed food safety and hygiene standards.