FDA suspends licences of Mumbai's iconic Cafe Mondegar, 3 others over safety violations

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday suspended the licences of Cafe Mondegar, a popular restaurant in Colaba, and three other food establishments in Mumbai after inspections found serious food safety and hygiene violations. The FDA inspected Cafe Mondegar at Metro House in Colaba on September 12 and found several deficiencies, including failure to maintain hot food above the prescribed 60 degrees Celsius and cold storage below 5 degrees Celsius, the regulator said in a release. Officials also found improper thawing of food, inadequate rapid cooling of cooked food, and sanitation and structural deficiencies that posed a risk of cross-contamination. The FDA also suspended the licences of Maharashtra Biryani Centre in Kandivali East, Tribhuvan Dairy Farm in Ghatkopar West and Mahavir Cashew & Foods Pvt Ltd in Ghatkopar East after inspections found violations of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Act. Schedule 4 lays down mandatory hygiene and sanitation requirements for food business operators. The FDA, under new commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, has intensified its crackdown on food safety, adulteration and hygiene violations. It also took action against nine food establishments in Mumbai for deficiencies found during inspections conducted as part of its festival season drive. The establishments include Ruhafza Bakery in Khar West; Chandru's Pure Ghee Sweets and Sharma Dairy & Fast Food in Andheri West; Punjabi Chandu Halwai LLP at Grant Road East; Shri Narayan Dairy in Vile Parle West; and Gulshan Dairy Farm in Khar West. The regulator said it inspected 38 food establishments in Mumbai and collected 47 food samples, including milk, khoya, ghee and sweets, for analysis during the special festival campaign between September 11 and 14. At Ayush Milk Supplier in Andheri East, officials collected a sample of sweet barfi and seized the remaining 23 kg stock, valued at Rs 6,440. At Brijwasi Mithaiyan Shop in Mulund West, they collected a khoya sample and seized 225 kg of the remaining stock, valued at Rs 60,300. The FDA also took action against several milk and milk-product establishments across Maharashtra. At Shivaratna Milk & Milk Agro Product in Takawade, Kolhapur, officials found 10 kg of halwa worth Rs 6,000 and 198 kg of rabadi worth Rs 45,540, both suspected to be substandard. At Creamy Delight in Patas, Pune, officials found 1,519 kg of cow milk, butter and skimmed milk powder worth Rs 8.50 lakh with labelling deficiencies and suspected substandard quality. At Mahaveer Dairy in Manchar, Pune, officials found 49 kg of khoya worth Rs 13,720, 104 kg of paneer worth Rs 31,200 and 11 kg of ghee worth Rs 7,920, all suspected to be substandard. The FDA said it was initiating further legal action in these cases. In Jalgaon district, the food regulator seized around 2,155 kg of suspected adulterated sweet halwa worth Rs 5.58 lakh from two transport vehicles. It also seized 28 kg of suspected substandard khoya worth Rs 12,600 from Brijvilas Dairy in Jalgaon, 16.2 kg of suspected substandard peda and buffalo ghee worth Rs 15,200 from Ekta Dudh Dairy and Sweets in Raver, and 6.5 kg of peda worth Rs 2,600 from Tarachand Sundarji and Sons in Chalisgaon in Jalgaon district. Officials also found 19 kg of shrikhand worth Rs 5,320 stored in unhygienic conditions at a premises belonging to Samadhan Pawar, the release said. The FDA said it found 30 litres of loose pasteurised standardised buffalo milk, valued at Rs 2,830, being sold at Bhairavnath Dairy in Badlapur, Thane, in violation of an order dated July 3, 2026. At Ayush Milk Supplier in Andheri East, officials also found improper storage and inadequate or incorrect labelling of sweet barfi and low-fat paneer. The regulator said its statewide action resulted in the seizure of 30 litres of liquid milk and 4,138.7 kg of milk products and sweets, including khoya, paneer, ghee, peda, halwa, shrikhand, butter and milk powder. The total value of the seized stock was Rs 15,58,072. In its action against banned food products, the FDA said a joint team of its officials and police seized gutkha and other prohibited food products worth Rs 95.30 lakh in Rajur, Jalna district, on September 9. The team also seized vehicles allegedly used to transport the banned products, valued at around Rs 40 lakh, taking the total value of the seized goods and vehicles to Rs 1.35 crore. Police registered a case against two individuals, Sandeep Dattu Bhumkar and Ashish Dholtani, and the supplier companies under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Food Safety and Standards Act, and MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act). In Beed district, a joint FDA-police team intercepted a Mahindra Scorpio allegedly being used to transport banned gutkha near the Barshi Naka area. Officials detained two men, Dattatray Ghodke and Omkar Ghodke, and seized gutkha worth Rs 3.63 lakh and the vehicle worth Rs 7 lakh. A case was registered against the two men and the supplier company under MCOCA, the release said. The FDA further said that in a special drive in Mumbai on September 12, it acted against five establishments where prohibited food products were found. It seized banned food stock worth Rs 20,21,100, registered one FIR and arrested nine people. The regulator also seized five vehicles allegedly used to transport the prohibited products, with their combined value at Rs 98 lakh. (With Agency Inputs)