The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration suspended the licences of three popular Mumbai eateries after inspections uncovered repeated food safety and hygiene violations
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food business licences of three prominent Mumbai restaurants, which are Noor Mohammadi Hotel, Shalimar Hospitality and Rehmania Restaurant, after inspections found repeated food safety and hygiene violations that were not addressed despite multiple opportunities for corrective action.
The action is part of the regulator’s ongoing enforcement drive to improve food safety standards across Maharashtra. It comes days after the FDA suspended the licence of Mumbai’s iconic ice cream parlour, K Rustom & Co, over alleged violations of food safety norms.
Among the establishments facing action is Noor Mohammadi Hotel, the century-old Bhendi Bazaar restaurant known for signature dishes such as Nalli Nihari and Chicken Sanju Baba. An inspection conducted on 13 July found several hygiene lapses, including thick grease deposits on kitchen floors, open windows that allowed flies, insects and crows into food preparation areas, unhygienic storage of raw materials, the use of old utensils, missing supplier records and inadequate pest-control measures. The FDA suspended the restaurant’s licence with immediate effect on 14 July.
Shalimar Hospitality, another well-known Bhendi Bazaar eatery, also had its licence suspended after a follow-up inspection found that 25 deficiencies identified during an inspection in April remained unresolved. According to the FDA, the restaurant failed to maintain records of raw materials and edible oil quality, did not conduct mandatory drinking water quality tests, improperly segregated vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, and operated kitchens with wet, slippery floors and windows without insect-proof screens.
Rehmania Restaurant in Umerkhadi was also directed to suspend operations after inspectors reportedly found improper storage of food and chemicals, rusting kitchen equipment, peeling paint and plaster, missing mandatory food-testing records and the absence of drinking water quality tests.
The inspections were conducted under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011. According to media reports, the FDA said persistent non-compliance with food safety requirements and the potential risk to public health prompted the suspension of the restaurants’ licences.
The regulator said that it will continue strict action against the food units, which do not follow the food safety and hygiene norms, and has stepped up surveillance of restaurants and other food establishments across Maharashtra.
