FDA issues ‘stop work’ notice to Girgaum’s well-known sweet shop Ganesh Bhandar

A sweet vendor in Mumbai has been issued a stop work notice by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for operating without a food licence. The FDA also found substandard sweets and seized food samples from the shop. The FDA has been inspecting sweet shops during the festive season and has issued shut business notices to 20 restaurants in the last three months.

Mumbai: The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) issued a stop work notice to Ganesh Bhandar- a sweet vendor in south Mumbai for not having a food licence. The shop located in CP Tank, Girgaon, was inspected by FDA team on Thursday where they also found substandard sweets and seized the food sample before issuing the stop work notice.

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Shailesh Adhao, joint commissioner (food) said, “We have seized 688 kilograms of Kaju, amounting to ₹3,84,640, and issued an immediate stop work notice for operating without the required licence.”

Another FDA official said they have also taken samples including Kesar Kaju Katali, Badam Katali, Shev, Kaju, Motichur Ladoo. “We have also collected used cooking oil, cashew nuts, besan, and groundnut oil for further testing,” said the FDA official.

Shantanu Ashok Patnaik, associated with Ganesh Bhandar, said they have applied for the food licence. He however denied using substandard material for making sweets.

With the festive season on, FDA has been inspecting and taking action on sweet shops. On Thursday, FDA food inspectors also seized sweets-rose burfi, malai burfi and sweet khoya- worth ₹3.58 lakh from a sweet shop in Kandivali. “We are inspecting the sweet shops. In this shop, we found the sweets being stored in an unhygienic condition,” said Adhao.

He told the FDA they will continue with the drive of inspecting the restaurants in Mumbai. On November 3, it had issued a stop work notice to the Burn-Bar and Kitchen at Bandra Kurla Complex after it found major violations of food safety norms. In the last three months, FDA has issued shut business notices to 20 restaurants. It has also given improvement notice to 137 of the 155 restaurants it inspected and collected a fine of ₹1.70 lakh. HT on October 17 reported on nine high-end restaurants in Mumbai, including Cou Cou By Oberoi, being shut down following a surprise raid in the first week of October. The other eight restaurants including- Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) in Vile Parle (W), Banana Leaf at Matunga, New York Burrito in Kandivali West, Hotel Highway Inn in Andheri East, Tasty Parota Corner -Dharavi, Madina Sharif Hotel in Mohammed Ali Rd, Mumbai Bites in Ghatkopar-E, Circle Kitchen in Malad-W and Rajlaxmi Restaurant in Kanjurmarg-W.

“The aim of our drive is to spread awareness among restaurant owners to maintain food safety norms,” he said.

Food safety inspectors (FSOs) will continue to visit restaurants and eateries in the city to check for compliances laid under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006.