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It's been an awful, menacing month for iconic Mumbai eateries. The latest joint to bite the dust after K Rustom & Co lost its food business license last week is Parsi Dairy Farm, another iconic Mumbai establishment located in Marine Lines. And that's not all!
During an inspection drive on July 14, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found multiple lapses at the 110-year-old institution, established by Nariman Ardeshir in 1916 and presently run by fourth-generation Parvana S Mistry, Zeenia K Patel, and cousins Sarfaraz and Bakhtyar K Irani. The institution's known for its high-quality, pure dairy products like thick sweet curd, creamy malai kulfi, gigantic jalebis, and authentic pure cow ghee.
What happened?
During the inspection of the Marine Lines branch, food safety officials found fungal growth on walls in storage and production areas, raw materials stored near the same walls, and there were discrepancies at the raw milk reception dock. What's more: there were swarms of flies, no pest control or rodent nets or measures in place, and no effluent treatment plant. To top that, the medical records of food-handling staff were missing, and the expiration dates or use-by dates on several items were missing.
The FSSAI licence was suspended with immediate effect. The team noted that microbiological food contamination could pose a serious risk to consumers.
On July 16, the FDA inspected the Palghar branch and took samples of their ghee, butter, paneer, figs, kulfi, and mawa for analysis.
Which other iconic eateries have lost their licences?
Earlier this week, in a crackdown, other iconic eateries in Mumbai were forced shut due to the loss of their food business licence. Among the lot were Shalimar Hotel and 103-year-old Noor Mohammadi Hotel in Bhendi Bazaar. The officials allegedly found the eateries to be in multiple violations of food safety regulations.
On July 14’s reinspection at Shalimar Hotel, the team found as many as 25 deficiencies, similar to what had been flagged in the April inspection and were not rectified. The officials flagged the absence of raw material records, wet and slippery floors, insufficient drinking water quality tests, inadequate segregation of non-vegetarian and vegetarian food, and no insect-proofing screens, among other violations.
At Noor Mohammadi Hotel, famous for its Chicken Sanju Baba and Nalli Nihari, the inspectors found greasy kitchen floors and walls; insects, flies and crows near the kebab section; unhygienic and unclean utensils; and absence of supplier records, water quality tests, and pest control measures.
On July 13, Rehmania Restaurant, known for its tandoori and Mughlai dishes, lost its licence immediately. During the raid, they found rusted equipment, peeling paint and plaster on walls and ceilings, improper storage of food, chemicals and packaging materials, and more. They also found that the eatery lacked insect-proofing and proper drinking water quality records.
All licences were suspended under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The statewide crackdown under Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe on milk adulteration and establishments not complying with FSSAI norms is likely to continue, and we are likely to hear of more such legendary eateries losing their licences.