Maharashtra FDA suspends Café Mondegar licence in Mumbai food-safety drive

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has suspended the food licence of Café Mondegar in Colaba following a September 12 inspection that flagged multiple food-safety and hygiene lapses, as part of a wider festival-season enforcement drive across Mumbai and the rest of the state.

Inspectors who visited the establishment at Metro House found that hot food was not being held above the prescribed 60°C and that cold storage was not maintained below 5°C. They also noted improper thawing of food and a failure to rapidly cool cooked items. The agency cited damaged flooring caused by dampness, inadequate drainage near the food preparation area that raised the risk of cross-contamination, and a failure to properly clean and sanitise equipment.

Café Mondegar was one of four Mumbai establishments whose licences were suspended. Maharashtra Biryani Center in Kandivali East was inspected on September 11, while Tribhuvan Dairy Farm in Ghatkopar West and Mahavir Cashew & Foods Pvt Ltd in Ghatkopar East were also inspected on September 11. Violations of food-safety requirements under Schedule 4 were found at these establishments.

The action formed part of a larger enforcement drive in Greater Mumbai carried out between September 11 and 14. Thirty-eight food establishments were inspected and 47 samples, including milk, khoya, ghee and sweets, were collected for analysis.

At Ayush Milk Supplier in Andheri East, 23 kg of sweet burfi worth ₹6,440 was seized after samples were taken for testing. At Brijwasi Mithaiyan in Mulund West, 225 kg of khoya worth ₹60,300 was seized for analysis. Nine licences were suspended during the broader Mumbai drive, while Krishna Sweets and Snacks in Kanjurmarg East was fined ₹20,000 after deficiencies were found.

Separately, on September 12, action was taken against five establishments in Mumbai over prohibited food products. Banned stock worth ₹20.21 lakh was seized, one FIR was registered and nine people were arrested. Five vehicles allegedly used to transport the prohibited products, collectively valued at ₹98 lakh, were also seized.

The drive extended beyond the city. In the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division, prohibited food products worth ₹2.74 lakh and a vehicle valued at ₹3 lakh were seized on September 15; an FIR was registered and two people were arrested. In the Amravati division, prohibited stock worth ₹23,200 was seized, with one FIR registered and one person arrested.

In Pune district, Deccan Cold Storages India Pvt Ltd in Bhor was inspected on September 15, when 4,891.9 kg of pasteurised cooking butter worth ₹4.15 lakh was found and alleged packaging and labelling violations were flagged. In Palghar, on September 16, 878 litres of colostrum worth ₹1.05 lakh were seized from a vehicle at Charoti toll plaza after the stock was found to be transported without labels, proper temperature control and hygienic storage conditions.

The statewide drive has also targeted suspected adulteration, unhygienic storage, improper labelling and banned products ahead of the festival season.