FDA suspends BMC HQ canteen licence over food safety lapses

The suspension, which took effect on Wednesday night, has halted operations at the canteen in the BMC Annexe building, which serves hundreds of civic officials, employees, police personnel, corporators and visitors daily.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the Food Registration Certificate of Kamal Caterers Pvt Ltd, the contractor operating the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters canteen, after finding that all 31 food safety violations flagged during an earlier inspection remained unrectified.

Mumbai, India - July 23, 2026: BMC canteen was sealed by FDA at BMC head office in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, July 23, 2026. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

The suspension, which took effect on Wednesday night, has halted operations at the canteen in the BMC Annexe building, which serves hundreds of civic officials, employees, police personnel, corporators and visitors daily.

The FDA said an inspection on June 8 found multiple violations related to hygiene, sanitation and food safety. An improvement notice was issued the following day and received by the contractor on June 16, but no compliance report was submitted. A re-inspection on July 22 found all 31 deficiencies still persisted.

The violations included fly infestation in the kitchen, poor hygiene in food handling areas, improper maintenance of equipment, faulty temperature control, absence of hygiene logs, missing medical fitness and FoSTaC training certificates for staff, lack of food safety audit records and failure to maintain statutory documents.

The licence has been suspended under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, prohibiting the contractor from preparing or selling food until further orders. The FDA has also directed officials to keep the premises under surveillance and warned of legal action if the canteen continues to operate.

Kamal Caterers is operating the canteen under an 11-month contract that ends in November. Sources said the contractor is likely to appeal the suspension.

Despite the FDA’s action, senior BMC officials privately questioned the decision, sources said. A senior official said civic authorities felt the deficiencies did not warrant suspension of the licence.

Another official familiar with the inspection said internal discussions centred on three issues, such as the concentration of chemicals used for pest control, a small piece of rope found in a food item, and incomplete attendance records, though the FDA’s inspection report lists 31 violations.

The issue was also raised at Thursday’s BMC Standing Committee meeting, where Chief Labour Officer Sunil Jangale said the contractor would have to comply with the FDA’s directions before the licence could be restored.

Several corporators criticised the administration’s handling of the issue. Kalina corporator Tulip Miranda demanded action against Jangale, alleging he appeared before the committee without adequate information. Sources, however, said he was unable to provide details as all relevant documents had already been forwarded to the Mayor’s office.