FDA shuts down Yewale and Saiba tea shops in Pune for running without licence

At the same time, FDA officers said that all hygiene and health-related precautions were being taken by the stalls

The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) ordered the immediate closure of Yewale and Saiba tea stalls for operating without licence on Friday. FDA officials conducted surprise visits to Yewale tea shop at Budhwar peth and Saiba Amruttulya at Narayan peth, Dhankawadi and Bharati Vidyapeeth. They found that these shops were operating without a licence and were violating the norms prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Saiba Amruttulya one of tea stalls that was shut down by the FDA was located at Dhankawadi in Pune. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner, FDA said, “In a surprise visit we have found that they were operating the tea stall without FSSAI licence. This is a violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. We have therefore issued notices demanding that they shut down the shops immediately.”

At the same time, FDA officers said that all hygiene and health-related precautions were being taken by the stalls.The shop owners will have to pay a penalty, an official said. Saiba Kalyankar has 30 tea outlets at various parts of the city. He said, “Validity of our FSSAI licence expired and we failed to renew it within the stipulated time. Yes, this is our mistake. Now we are going to apply for the renewal of our FSSAI licence.”