Mumbai's Olympia Coffee House, where Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon had chai, faces FDA licence suspension; here's why

The Maharashtra FDA, led by Tukaram Mundhe, has intensified inspections leading to the immediate suspension of Olympia Coffee House's food license due to serious hygiene violations. This action was part of the 'Safe Food Safe Maharashtra' campaign following a consumer complaint.

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA), headed by IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe, has stepped up inspections and enforcement measures against restaurants and other food establishments across the state as the department ordered the immediate suspension of the food licence of Olympia Coffee House in Mumbai's Colaba, according to multiple media reports.

The action followed a consumer complaint prompting an inspection that reportedly uncovered multiple violations related to food safety and hygiene. The action against Cafe Olympia was carried out on Wednesday, 16 September, as part of the FDA's 'Safe Food Safe Maharashtra' campaign.

In July, Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon, and Tom Holland visited the 108-year-old Olympia Coffee House in Colaba for a casual chai break ahead of the Indian premiere of their film The Odyssey. During their stop at the iconic heritage cafe, the trio enjoyed traditional cutting chai and bun maska, along with local favorites like caramel custard and phirni.

“During the inspection, several serious food safety and hygiene violations were observed, including a urinal located in the food storage area and unhygienic food preparation and utensil-washing facilities," Mid Day quoted FDA as saying in an official statement.

Officials said the inspection uncovered several food safety and hygiene concerns at the establishment. These reportedly included food being handled directly on the floor, the use of contaminated or unhygienic water, the presence of cockroaches and flies, traces of meat blood inside a refrigerator, and inadequate separation of raw vegetarian and non-vegetarian items.

Inspectors also found damaged wooden chopping boards in use and said food handlers were not wearing the required protective clothing.

The FDA further said that 34 of the 35 food handlers had not completed the mandatory food safety training. The establishment also lacked required water testing reports and other essential sanitation-related records.

According to the agency, any further decision on the licence will be taken only after all the identified shortcomings have been fully addressed and a subsequent inspection confirms that the premises meet the required food safety standards.

FDA suspends licences of six other food establishments

The FDA has ordered the immediate suspension of licences of six other food establishments across Mumbai. The list includes Blink Commerce Private Limited in Chembur, Vishwas Sweets and Snacks and A-1 General & Dry Fruits in Ghatkopar West, Nair Hospital Canteen in Mumbai Central, Milan Punjab in Worli, Sadguru Sweets in Malad East.

Cafe Mondegar, 3 other Mumbai food establishments face licence suspension few days ago

The Maharashtra FDA on Tuesday said it suspended the licences of four food establishments in Mumbai, including popular eatery Cafe Mondegar, following inspections that uncovered serious food safety and hygiene lapses.

According to an FDA release, officials inspected Cafe Mondegar at Metro House in Colaba on September 12 and identified several violations. These included failing to maintain hot food at the prescribed temperature of above 60°C and cold storage at below 5°C.

Inspectors also reported improper food thawing, inadequate rapid cooling of cooked items, and deficiencies in sanitation and the restaurant's physical infrastructure. The FDA said these shortcomings could increase the risk of cross-contamination.

Licences of three other establishments — Maharashtra Biryani Centre in Kandivali East, Tribhuvan Dairy Farm in Ghatkopar West and Mahavir Cashew & Foods Pvt Ltd in Ghatkopar East, were also suspended following inspections.

The FDA said the establishments were found to have violated Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, which lays down mandatory hygiene and sanitation requirements for food business operators.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X

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