Mumbai: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the FSSAI licence of Kyani & Co, one of Mumbai’s oldest Irani cafés, after a surprise inspection led by FDA chief Tukaram Mundhe uncovered alarming hygiene failures.
Inspectors found rat droppings, live flies and dead cockroaches in food preparation and storage zones, along with cats roaming the premises and a large quantity of blood pooled inside a refrigerator.
The raid, conducted on September 27, was part of the state’s “Safe Food, Safe Maharashtra” festive-season drive aimed at tightening food-safety compliance ahead of the celebrations.
Established in 1904, the café is famed for its vintage ambience — high ceilings, old-world charm — and low-cost snacks and tea, but regulators said the conditions inside posed a direct threat to public health.
‘Immediate Risk’ Cited; Operations Halted
During the inspection, officials also discovered an open sewage manhole in the processing area, food items stored directly on the floor, and raw dough wrapped in printed newspaper instead of food-grade covering. Staff were not using mandated personal protective equipment, and there was no proper segregation between raw ingredients and ready-to-eat food, increasing the risk of cross-contamination, as reported by India Today.
The FDA said the inspection revealed “serious food safety and hygiene deficiencies that posed an immediate risk to consumers’ health”, and on those grounds suspended the café’s licence with immediate effect under the proviso to Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The outlet has been ordered to “immediately stop the purchase, manufacture, processing, storage, sale and distribution of food products”, and officials said the premises are being kept under surveillance to ensure the directive is followed.
Part Of Wider Crackdown
The action against Kyani & Co came amid a broader statewide enforcement push between September 23 and 27. In that period, the FDA seized 50,601.78 kg — about 50.60 tonnes — of food items including sweets, milk products, edible oil, rice, dry fruits, namkeen, farsan, tea, spices, sauces, noodles and wafers, valued at Rs 1.19 crore.
Across Maharashtra, licences of 30 food establishments were suspended: 13 in Mumbai, six in the Konkan division, eight in the Pune division and three in the Sambhajinagar division.
The crackdown also involved inspections of 26 establishments, seizure of banned products worth Rs 30.93 lakh, registration of 22 FIRs, 30 arrests, sealing of three units and impounding of three vehicles.
In Mumbai alone, the licences or registration certificates of 13 establishments were suspended with immediate effect as part of the same drive.
