Licence of Ggm eatery that served dry ice instead of mouth freshener cancelled

The food and supply department has taken food samples from 162 restaurants across the city to conduct quality tests

The Food and Supply Department on Monday cancelled the licence of Laforestta Café in Sapphire Mall in Gurugram’s Sector 90 after it failed to respond to a show cause notice issued to them on March 6, people familiar with the matter said. The department sealed the restaurant and issued it the notice after its staff allegedly served dry ice instead of mouth freshener to five diners, leading to their hospitalisation.

Laforestta Café in Sapphire Mall in Gurugram’s Sector 90 . (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Following the incident, the food and supply department has taken food samples from 162 restaurants across the city to conduct quality tests. Officials said they also checked establishments for dry ice but did not find a single restaurant using it.

The incident occurred on March 2 when a group of six friends, aged between 25 and 30, gathered to celebrate the birthday of one of them at the café. However, a waiter mistakenly served them dry ice instead of mouth freshener after dinner, resulting in their hospitalisation. The Gurugram police arrested the restaurant manager on March 5 and the waitress on March 8, and they were later granted bail.

Ramesh Chauhan, food safety officer, said they had served a notice to the establishment and given them 15 days to reply, but no response was received by the café owner or staff. “Due to a lack of response, action was taken against the establishment, resulting in the cancellation of its licence,” he said.

Despite repeated calls and messages, Laforestta Café staff did not respond to requests for comment.

Food quality checks across city

Chauhan said raids were conducted in areas such as Golf Course Road, Sector 29, Golf Course Extension Road, Sohna Road , Cyber city , and Sector 14, among others, to collect samples from restaurants. “Since March 5, we have collected samples from 162 restaurants in Gurugram of which 58 samples failed quality tests. Moreover, reports for several other samples are pending, and appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the regulations,” he said.

He said that they are conducting raids to check the food quality and dairy products used by the outlets to ensure they are not of poor quality. “We are awaiting directions from higher authorities based on which action will be taken against the outlets whose samples have failed quality tests,” he said.

The food safety officer said that many cases have been filed in court and 16 cases with additional deputy commissioner based on the reports of restaurant sample failures.

Chauhan said they have also identified 20 private schools in the district that provide lunch to students and will collect samples to ensure there is no risk to students’ health. “We are starting a drive to check food quality to ensure students’ health is not at risk,” he said.

Gurugram deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav said that they are conducting regular inspections of all outlets and have mandated proper training for the staff serving food items that require specialised training. “Establishments must exercise caution while serving food, and no risks are to be tolerated. Restaurants should exercise utmost caution when serving food to guests, as they cannot risk endangering their lives.,” he said.