The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday has ordered the immediate closure and sealing of the canteen operating inside the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters following serious hygiene and food safety violations, accordinf to NDTV reports.
The action was initiated after a fly was reportedly found in a glass of buttermilk served at the canteen. FDA officials subsequently conducted a detailed inspection of the premises lasting nearly five hours.
Following the inspection, the FDA issued a stop-business notice to the canteen operator, Kamal Caterers, citing unhygienic conditions and violations of food safety regulations.
The BMC's health and labour departments also imposed a combined penalty of Rs 50,000 on the contractor.The crackdown forms part of an ongoing food safety enforcement drive across Mumbai under Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. Similar action was recently taken against the canteen at KEM Hospital and several other prominent food establishments in the city.
The Maharashtra FDA has seized 1,731 litres of milk and 896 kg of milk products valued at Rs 1.44 lakh during a state-wide special inspection drive, and suspended the licences of 16 hotels, restaurants and other eateries for allegedly violating food safety norms, officials said on Tuesday.
The FDA said it inspected 103 hotels, restaurants, 'dhabas' and similar establishments across the state during the special inspection drive between July 16 and 21.
The agency issued improvement notices to 34 establishments and suspended the licences of 16 food businesses after finding serious hygiene and food safety violations.
The action against the dairy sector included the seizure of 1,683 litres of milk from a dairy unit in Govandi in Mumbai over improper storage conditions, while samples of milk were seized from two such units in Sinnar on the suspicion of being substandard.
The FDA said it would continue its special campaign against adulteration of milk and dairy products and take strict legal action against the violators.
According to the regulatory body, the drive also resulted in the seizure of 2,796.5 kilograms of other food items worth Rs 5.56 lakh, while 53 raids were carried out across Maharashtra.
