Cockroaches in kitchen, ‘unsafe’ food storage: FDA suspends food licences of more Mumbai eateries

FDA action follows a statewide crackdown on August 18, during which 31 hotels, restaurants and dhabas were inspected. Five food licences were suspended, and improvement notices were issued to 22 establishments

Updated - August 20, 2026 06:13 pm IST - Mumbai

The suspension will remain in place until the deficiencies are rectified and verified by the competent authority, the FDA said. Photo credit: Special arrangement

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) suspended the food licences of two restaurants in Mumbai and a college canteen in Navi Mumbai over alleged violations of hygiene, storage, and food safety regulations. Authorities also seized food products worth nearly ₹13.88 lakh in Pune and Sangli.

The FDA action followed a statewide crackdown on August 18, during which 31 hotels, restaurants and dhabas were inspected. Five food licences were suspended, and improvement notices were issued to 22 establishments. Banned and other food products worth ₹25.30 lakh were seized.

At Hotel Radha in Malad West, Mumbai, officials on August 18 reported finding rats — one entering the kitchen through an open drainage line and another close to the ceiling — as well as cockroaches on a dough-mixing machine. They also reportedly found stagnant water, grease deposits and drainage leaks. The restaurant’s food business licence was then suspended under Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, and it was ordered to stop food production, storage, sale and distribution.

Hotel Radha’s food business licence was then suspended under Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, and it was ordered to stop food production, storage, sale and distribution. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

On August 19, the FDA suspended the FSSAI licence of Janta Tawa & Grill at Rasiwala Chawl in Kurla West, Mumbai, after officials said they found raw meat and poultry stored without adequate protection against contamination and inadequate temperature-controlled storage. Temperature records for refrigerated and frozen storage were allegedly unavailable, while food, packaging material and non-food articles were not segregated properly. Officials also reported poor maintenance of food-contact equipment and deterioration of walls and ceilings.

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The restaurant could not produce records of laboratory testing of food products or water used for food contact. Its licence was suspended under Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and its food business operations were ordered to stop during the suspension period.

The FDA also suspended the FSSAI license of Siddhivinayak Enterprises/Bilavana Rajendra Chavan, which operated out of Saraswati College of Engineering in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. Officials who inspected the facility on August 18 found that it was registered as a ‘Food Vending Establishment’ but was operating as a canteen.

The FDA reported inadequate pest control and ventilation, poor segregation of personal and non-food items, inadequate raw material purchase records and the absence of mandatory laboratory testing of food and water. The FSSAI registration was also not prominently displayed, officials said.

The suspension will remain in place until the deficiencies are rectified and verified by the competent authority, the FDA said.

‘Substandard or misbranded’

Separately, on August 19, the FDA seized 5,098 kg of khichdi masala worth ₹5.09 lakh and 5,598 kg of defatted toasted soya grits worth ₹4.48 lakh from Indo Allied Protein Foods Pvt. Ltd. at Mahalunge in Pune. In Sangli, officials seized 3,850 kg of jaggery powder worth ₹4.30 lakh from Mitesh Sales Corporation at the Market Yard on August 19, on suspicion that the products were substandard or misbranded. Samples from both establishments were sent for laboratory testing.

The FDA also registered eight FIRs and arrested 10 people during action against banned gutkha, pan masala, scented tobacco and related products across Mumbai, Konkan, Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on August 18. Six establishments were sealed and banned stock worth ₹11.40 lakh was seized.

Published - August 20, 2026 06:12 pm IST

Mumbai / Maharashtra / food

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