FDA suspends licences of Mumbai's iconic Cafe Mondegar, 3 others over safety violations

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday suspended the licences of Cafe Mondegar, a popular restaurant in Colaba, and three other food establishments in Mumbai after inspections found serious food safety and hygiene violations.The FDA inspected Cafe Mondegar at Metro House in Colaba on September 12 and found several deficiencies, including failure to maintain hot food above the prescribed 60 degrees Celsius and cold storage below 5 degrees Celsius, the regulator said in a release.Officials also found improper thawing of food, inadequate rapid cooling of cooked food, and sanitation and structural deficiencies that posed a risk of cross-contamination.The FDA also suspended the licences of Maharashtra Biryani Centre in Kandivali East, Tribhuvan Dairy Farm in Ghatkopar West and Mahavir Cashew & Foods Pvt Ltd in Ghatkopar East after inspections found violations of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Act.Schedule 4 lays down mandatory hygiene and sanitation…