Maharashtra food safety crackdown: 199 licences suspended, 948 notices issued
According to the FDA, Pune topped the overall enforcement chart with 4,261 inspections and 168 licence suspensions. Konkan followed with 3,142 inspections and 108 suspensions, while Greater Mumbai recorded 1,451 inspections and 121 suspensions.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has suspended 199 eatery licences after inspecting more than 1,800 hotels, clubs and dhabas across the state over the last three months, officials said on Friday. The action followed findings such as cockroach-infested kitchens, uncovered raw meat and filthy utensils.
The FDA also served 948 improvement notices for serious cold-chain and sanitation lapses, with Pune division emerging as the worst offender in terms of licence suspensions, officials said.
According to the FDA, Pune topped the overall enforcement chart with 4,261 inspections and 168 licence suspensions. Konkan followed with 3,142 inspections and 108 suspensions, while Greater Mumbai recorded 1,451 inspections and 121 suspensions.
Among the other divisions, Nashik recorded 1,356 inspections and 56 suspensions, followed by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar with 1,173 inspections and 61 suspensions, Amravati with 989 inspections and 45 suspensions, and Nagpur with 711 inspections and 44 suspensions.
The region-wise figures cover the period from May 25 to August 31. The FDA intensified its crackdown on restaurants, dairies and food manufacturing units after IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe took charge of the agency earlier this year.
The agency said inspections of hotels and restaurants found serious violations of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, including a lack of clean water and drainage facilities, cold-chain breaches, improper refrigerator temperatures, cockroach infestation and unhygienic food-handling practices.
Other violations included poor structural conditions, raw chicken stored in open containers, cut vegetables left unsealed, the absence of water testing records, and unclean floors, utensils and food-contact surfaces.
The department also found establishments without medical and vaccination records, FoSTaC training certificates, laboratory testing records and proof of purchase from licensed vendors, the FDA said in a release.
The inspections carried out between May 25 and August 31 led to licence suspensions and improvement notices across divisions, with the FDA citing major sanitation, storage and compliance failures at food establishments.