FDA suspends licence of Mumbai's 122-year-old Kyani & Co. cafe after finding rat droppings, cockroaches
Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration suspended the FSSAI licence of Kyani & Co., opened in 1904, after an surprise inspection found unhygienic conditions.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken action against Mumbai's well-known Kyani & Co. cafe, suspending its FSSAI licence. The cafe, about 122 years old, opened in 1904 and is counted among the oldest Irani cafes in Mumbai.
An FDA team carried out a surprise inspection. Officials found rat droppings, live flies and dead cockroaches in the areas where food is cooked and stored. Cats were also seen on the premises, and blood was found directly in a refrigerator. These findings have raised serious questions about the cafe's hygiene.
The inspection turned up other lapses. Food was being prepared next to an open sewage manhole. Some food items were kept directly on the floor, while raw dough was covered with newspaper. Officials also noted major shortcomings in keeping raw and cooked food separate.
According to the FDA, such conditions greatly increase the risk of food contamination and affect the health of customers. The department has therefore treated it as a serious food safety and hygiene problem.
Under the action, the cafe has been directed to stop purchasing, storing, selling and distributing food items. Its business will be affected until the necessary shortcomings are rectified.
The action against Kyani Cafe is part of a statewide food safety drive by the Maharashtra FDA, conducted from September 23 to 27. Several eateries were inspected during the drive. Licences or registration certificates of 30 establishments were suspended and a large quantity of food items was seized.
