MUMBAI: The Maharashtra FDA on Tuesday suspended the licences of five establishments in Mumbai, including BJRS (Gallops) Restaurant located inside Royal Western India Turf Club at Mahalaxmi racecourse, over alleged food safety violations.Licences of Gufran Seekh Corner on Versova-Yari Road, Dreamer Hospitality Private Limited in Bandra (West), Mirari and Bandra West, and Gurukrupa Dairy Products in Malad have also been suspended, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.According to the regulator, blood and ketchup stains from non-vegetarian items were found on ice inside the refrigerator of BJRS Restaurant.Other violations at the eatery included raw material in torn/damaged packaging, grease accumulation in the kitchen, deteriorated walls, inadequate covering of drainage and cockroach traps, presence of live cockroaches and ants, water stagnation, and lack of records of annual medical examination/vaccination of food handlers, according to a statement.During an inspection of Gurukrupa Dairy Products in suburban Malad, the FDA found that refined sunflower oil, vanaspati (hydrogenated fat) and branded ghee were being blended in two special boilers to manufacture counterfeit white and yellow ghee.Consumers were allegedly being misled through labelling in small print under the name “Pooja Ghee”.Rat and cockroach infestation was also found on the premises. In the action, approximately 2,464.05 kg of adulterated and misleading ghee, refined sunflower oil, and vanaspati, valued at Rs 13,55,597, along with two boiler machines and one khoya machine, valued at around Rs 1,60,000, were seized.Amid the festive season, the FDA seized suspicious, adulterated, mislabelled and substandard ghee, khawa, peda, jaggery, oil, tea powder, sweets and other food items, collectively valued at around Rs 30.82 lakh.The FDA seized 3,310 kg of tea powder worth Rs 6,75,790 on suspicion of being unsafe/substandard from the godown of Ashok Agro Products in Chandrapur.It also cracked down on six establishments in Sangli, Pune and Kolhapur under the Pune Division, leading to the seizure of stock valued at around Rs 4,71,223.(With inputs from PTI)
