‘Stale food, cockroaches’: Pune suspends licences of more hotels, food outlets

The Food and Drug Administration, Pune division, suspended licences of hotels and food outlets over serious food safety, hygiene, storage and licencing requirement violations. Baba’s Kitchen at Mulshi, Ambrosios, Shrinath Food Corner at Hinjewadi, and Sapphire Foods (KFC) store at Bavdhan were the eateries that had their licences suspended, according to D V Bhogawade, Joint Commissioner, FDA (Food).

At Baba’s Kitchen, food colour was used in food products. Officials also identified large quantities of stale food. At Ambrosios, the inspection drive revealed poor hygiene apart from cockroaches found at the premises.

At Sapphire Foods (KFC), the team found the storage facility was being operated without the required approval under the FSSAI licence. The cold-storage AC was malfunctioning, resulting in water leaking and ice accumulating on food boxes, creating a contamination risk.