Maharashtra FDA Issues 95 Notices, Suspends 5 Licences in Food Chain Crackdown

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cracked down on major restaurant chains across Maharashtra after state-wide inspections uncovered critical food safety violations. The inspections, carried out under the “Safe Food, Safe Maharashtra” campaign led by FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, resulted in 95 improvement notices, five licence suspensions, and orders for two establishments to halt operations.

On August 11, FDA officials inspected 104 chain restaurant establishments across the state. The drive covered several prominent multinational and domestic brands, including Domino’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King, Starbucks, and Monginis.

The regulatory action revealed multiple compliance failures across outlets, including the discovery of expired pizza dough, suspected substandard frozen paneer, pest-control lapses, inadequate temperature monitoring, and poor segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.

The findings highlighted food safety lapses across various locations, including specific violations documented at five Domino’s and two Pizza Hut outlets operating in the state.

Following the inspections, the FDA initiated enforcement measures against non-compliant outlets, issuing 95 formal improvement notices requiring operators to rectify deficiencies, while suspending the food-business licences of five establishments and ordering two others to immediately stop business.