113 Restaurants In Maharashtra And 4 Food Delivery Services Have Been Issued Notices By The FDA

Cracking whip on unhygienic and violating eateries and restaurants, 113 food establishments have been issued notices by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Maharashtra reports the Indian Express. Along with this, a showcause notice to four food delivery services that delivered food from these establishments have also been sent out. These services are Swiggy, Zomato, Food Panda, and Uber Eats.

Unhygienic Eateries In Maharashtra

“The FDA survey has revealed that the establishments of food processing working through these online app and websites worked in unhealthy conditions. There were several violations found,” said FDA Commissioner Pallavi Darade to the Indian Express. The report further explains that 347 food establishments were inspected by the FDA between 21st September and 1st October and 113 out of them had several violations like lack of required licenses, no registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act along with some of them having unhygienic kitchens.

“Over the last two months, we have delisted hundreds of restaurants that were not compliant to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations or have poor customer ratings, while simultaneously assisting many restaurants to procure their licenses through our FSSAI Assist Program. Honouring the deadline of September 30, we have completed the delisting of those restaurants which were unable to procure their license or an acknowledgment,” a spokesperson from Swiggy told the Indian Express. The person also added that, “Separately, Swiggy has been working with Equinox Labs, a reputed food-audit firm accredited by FSSAI/ NABL on food hygiene audits that are conducted at restaurants, to ensure food prepared is in accordance with hygiene standards.”