00:00A Mumbai institution is facing food safety reality check.
00:05Café Mondega, a landmark in cities since 1932, has had its food business license suspended
00:11after the FDA inspection flagged multiple safety and hygiene lapses.
00:16What were the lapses?
00:18They were to do with temperature control, violations of concerns over defrosting, how it was done,
00:25rapid cooling, drainage and kitchen sanitation as well and the inspection has put the spotlight
00:31on what was happening behind the iconic café's doors, which is basically in the kitchen,
00:39how exactly food was being dealt.
00:42My colleague Devesh Tripathi sent us this detailed report on what this means for Mumbai, for Mondegaard
00:50and what does it tell us about FDA.
00:57A Mumbai institution, a café that has been part of the city's landscape for nearly a
01:04century, was shut on Wednesday.
01:09Café Mondega is facing FDA action.
01:12The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration, headed by Tukhara Munday, has suspended the
01:17café's food business license.
01:19This, after an inspection led by an FDA team, found multiple food safety and hygiene lapses.
01:25One of the key concerns, alleged temperature control violations.
01:29The FDA found hot food was not being maintained above the prescribed 60 degrees Celsius, while
01:35cold food was also not being kept below 5 degrees.
01:38The inspection also flagged improper defrosting of frozen food and negligence in the rapid cooling
01:43of cooked food, procedures designed to prevent food from entering unsafe temperature ranges.
01:50Then came the alleged hygiene lapses.
01:52The drainage system near the food preparation area was found to be inadequate.
01:56The flooring showed damage linked to dampness.
01:58And kitchen equipment, according to the FDA, was not being properly cleaned and sanitized.
02:03Most importantly, when FDA officials raided this place, they found that items inside this
02:11restaurant were not being maintained and required temperature of above 60 degrees, while cold
02:17storage temperature were not being kept below 5 degrees.
02:21Also, they found that improper throwing methods and failure of rapidly cooling cooked food as
02:28required were also observed during inspection.
02:32The FDA further found that equipment was not properly cleaned and sanitized and also they
02:37found certain lapses in drainage system as well, due to which there was a possibility of
02:42cross-contamination.
02:46And Mondagar is just one part of Maharashtra's wider food safety push amid Ganesh Utsav.
02:53The FDA says across the state, it has seized more than 4,138 kilos of dairy and sweet products,
02:59along with 30 litres of liquid milk.
03:02The seized stock, including khoya, paneer, ghee, peda, halwa and shrikant, is valued at over
03:0715.5 lakh rupees.
03:09In Mumbai, the FDA has also held five food safety workshops for Ganesh Mandals, training
03:14around 320 office bearers and members on safe and hygienic food preparation.
03:19From festive Prasad to iconic cafe, the fight for food safety continues.
03:24A Mumbai landmark since 1932, Mondagar is synonymous with old Mumbai, but the FDA crackdown puts the
03:31spotlight on what's behind the kitchen doors.
03:33With the Pestry Party, Bureau Report, India Today.
03:39And let's get a live update from Mumbai, from Mondagar Cafe.
03:44In fact, my colleague Devesh Singh joins us from outside that cafe now.
03:48Devesh, it's been happening for a couple of months now.
03:52Iconic places, institutions, which were a household name, a tourist spot perhaps, for Mumbai being
04:01shut, have Mumbai cars gotten used to it?
04:04Or now and then, whenever a famous restaurant or a famous canteen gets shut, they actually
04:13are in favor of it.
04:14I'm trying to get the public mood here.
04:20Well, Sonal, if we talk about the public, some of them are in shock that places like Cafe
04:27Mondagar, the colonial era restaurant, which was, which had a very high footfall.
04:33It was the place to visit, it was the place to be in Kolaba Causeway.
04:38If a tourist is visiting here, even Mumbaikers, when they visited Kolaba, they would step in
04:43at Cafe Mondagar for a pint of beer or for some food.
04:46But now that after the FDA crackdown has happened and it exposes that there were food safety
04:53lapses, there was no proper sanitation, the food temperatures were not being maintained.
04:59And in fact, there was damage to the flooring as well in, in the kitchen of Cafe Mondagar.
05:09So this exposes what was happening like this has brought to light what was not known to people.
05:15People knew that it is a famous restaurant, it is a colonial era restaurant and they would
05:21visit, they would have food over here, they would go there with friends, families.
05:25But now after this crackdown, it has brought to light that food safety rules were not being
05:31followed, hygiene was not maintained, there was, there was no proper sanitation in the kitchen.
05:37So this indeed is a shock to people.
05:40And also people are supportive of the action being taken by the FDA commissioner Tukaram
05:47Munday since he joined like three months back.
05:50Since then, he has begun crackdown across the state, especially in Mumbai and other places as well.
05:57They have been crackdown at famous restaurants across the city and also in other districts of
06:03Maharashtra, other places in Maharashtra, where FDA has been active.
06:08They have been seizing milk, spoiled milk, adulterated milk, adulterated khua, adulterated ghi and
06:14there are several.
06:16And as the festive season is around, there is Ganesh Utsa going on.
06:20Also for the Ganesh Mandals, FDA has held special workshops.
06:24Also, how to follow proper sanitation, proper hygiene, what food safety rules have to be followed.
06:31Especially this, other than only taking action on restaurants, there are rules being brought
06:36in place that high salt, high sugary foods not to be served around schools, around educational
06:43institutions.
06:44And now boards are being set up by the municipal corporation itself after FDA brought in such
06:49action.
06:50Other than that, there's action being taken on Gutka as well.
06:54Yeah, Divesh, I don't know if you have a couple of people around you who would like
06:58to speak about this matter.
06:59We would love to hear some, you know, Janata voice as well on this one.
07:03But, you know, I see that earlier we would go to a restaurant and we would ask if this restaurant
07:11is five star approved, if it has a Michelin star rating, if something else is happening.
07:17Are people now asking that is this restaurant the one that has Munde rating?
07:23How has Mr. Munde rated like their entire restaurant?
07:26Is that happening?
07:28And isn't it a bit of a dampener at this point in the middle of the Ganesh Chaturthi, if people
07:33are being told that you have to really be, you know, watchful of what's happening?
07:38Or is this a new kind of education that is being backed by the people?
07:41They're saying, good, it's happening.
07:43It's finally happening.
07:43We need accountability for the food that we have in public places.
07:52Well, Sonal, we tried to speaking to some people who were here.
07:57But as you can see, the cafe is shut.
08:00Cafe Mondegar is shut.
08:01The doors are closed.
08:02So there are no people actually over here who would be visiting or who would be there.
08:08There were a few people who had stepped in, who had come to this place.
08:12They wanted to visit, but they found that the cafe Mondegar, its license has been suspended.
08:18So they've left.
08:19But there's a lot of footfall usually at this place.
08:23There are people visiting, people who visit, mostly people from outside the city, people
08:29who are not from Mumbai.
08:30They usually come to visit Kolaba, Kolaba Cosway for shopping.
08:33And they go visit Cafe Mondegar as it's a legendary cafe.
08:39It's a colonial era cafe, which has been operating since around for a century in Mumbai.
08:44And now that this license has been suspended, it brings to light that the effect of what people
08:52are also saying or their social media memes that Tukaram Munde effect is taking place or
08:59the FDA crackdown being initiated by the FDA commissioner, Mr. Tukaram Munde is seeing light
09:06and there's action being seen across the city, across the state.
09:12All right, Dewey, thanks so much for joining us with that perspective.
09:15But let's listen in from the man himself.
09:17Mr. Munde spoke with India Today's Preeti Chaudhry a little while ago and we asked him
09:22specifically about the latest crackdown.
09:24This is what he had to say.
09:27I just want to ask you one quick question, sir, before I let you go.
09:31And that for Mumbai-kers could be, you know, as sensitive for some of them who followed
09:36Mondegar Cafe through the many years and decades and you have shut it.
09:40Now, what led you, Mr. Munde, to shut down Cafe Mondegar, which is iconic to Mumbai and
09:49South Mumbai?
09:54It's not about, I say, a bio for me, whether it's a big or small.
09:58I have said many times on your channel as well.
10:01So there are violations, schedule for violations.
10:03There are non-compliances.
10:05And after non-compliance are found, we have suspended the license.
10:08We have not canceled it yet.
10:09If they comply with that, we'll reinstate their license.
10:13If they don't comply, we'll go for a cancellation of it.
10:16So it's basically about a public health issue.
10:19It is about standards and regulations not being followed.
10:22And detailed press note I have issued yesterday.
10:24So the results are also mentioned therein.
10:26I need not repeat it.
10:27Only issue is that whoever is a food business operator, either a licensee or registered one,
10:34please follow these regulations because we are dealing with the health of the people.
10:37Mr. Muneeb, I know you do want to repeat what the issues were with Cafe Mondegar,
10:42but what was the biggest glaring issue that you said that there has to be a suspension letter,
10:48not a warning?
10:51It's not.
10:52Yeah, it's not.
10:53As I said, schedule 4 violation is the non-negotiable thing.
10:56And there are violations about schedule 4 as per regulations of registration and licensing
11:01regulation 2011.
11:03So, schedule 4 has a lot many component and they have been pointed out to them.
11:07It's not something which is opaque, it's absolutely transparent.
11:09In the suspension notice itself, those have been pointed out which are compliances,
11:13which are non-compliances, which are partial compliances.
11:15It is intimated to them.
11:17They have to come with compliances and further process will take place.
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