Cats, rat droppings: Licence of Mumbai’s 122-year-old Kyani & Co suspended

The action is part of a statewide festive-season drive carried out between September 23 and 27. (AI Generated Image)

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended licences of 13 food establishments in Mumbai, including South Bombay’s 122-year-old Irani eatery Kyani & Co, the two-decade-old upscale Cantonese restaurant Royal China, and a Subway outlet at Phoenix Mills.

The action is part of a statewide festive-season drive carried out between September 23 and 27. In all, 30 food licences were suspended across the state: 13 in Mumbai, six in Konkan Division, eight in Pune Division and three in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Division.

According to an FDA press note shared on Monday, officials inspected the cafe Dhobi Talao’s Kyani & Co, one of the oldest Irani cafes, on Sunday. The officials found cats, rat droppings, live flies and dead cockroaches in the food preparation and storage area, the note said. A large amount of blood had collected in the refrigerator, and an open sewage manhole was found in the processing section.

“Serious deficiencies were also found, such as food kept on the floor, raw dough covered with printed newspaper, staff not maintaining required hygiene or using PPE, and improper segregation of raw and ready-to-eat food,” read the press note.

While the press note did not say much about FDA’s findings at Royal China (Astra Corporation), an FDA official shared that during their inspection on Saturday, they found “visible widespread fungal and mould infestation on stored vegetables, raw ingredients and food preparation surfaces”. FDA also found cockroaches in primary storage area, no segregation of veg and non-veg food preparation, cooking oil in fryers that had turned dark brown because of multiple reuse, among others.

The other establishments are Colaba Sweet Mart, Arun Vilas Farsan in Dharavi, Ruchi Veg Restaurant in Parel, Daffodils Fast Food Inn in Vile Parle (E), Tiffin in Bandra (W), QSR Brands India Pvt Ltd in Andheri (E), United Bakery & Stores in Santacruz (W), Hotel Purandar Vilas in Khar (W), Shree Padmavati Enterprises in Jogeshwari (W) and S.S. Caterers in Chembur. S.S. Caterers was found operating without a licence and has been ordered to shut down immediately.

The inspection at the Subway outlet in the Phoenix Mills compound, operated by EverSub India Pvt Ltd, followed a complaint on the FDA’s portal. A food safety officer, who visited the premises on September 26, found a faulty refrigerator that kept defrosting while storing frozen food, with a mould-like layer inside, a foul smell and live cockroaches.

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Across the state, the drive seized 50.6 tonnes of food worth Rs 1.19 crore.