The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has suspended the licences of five establishments in Mumbai after inspections found alleged hygiene violations, pest infestations and suspected food adulteration, including the manufacture of counterfeit ghee at a Malad dairy products unit.
The establishments named by the regulator are BJRS, also known as Gallops Restaurant, located inside the Royal Western India Turf Club at Mahalaxmi racecourse; Gufran Seekh Corner on Versova-Yari Road; Dreamer Hospitality Private Limited in Bandra West; Mirari in Bandra West; and Gurukrupa Dairy Products in Malad. The FDA announced the action on Tuesday.
At BJRS Restaurant, inspectors reportedly found blood and ketchup stains from non-vegetarian items on ice stored inside a refrigerator. The FDA statement also cited raw materials kept in torn or damaged packaging, grease accumulation in the kitchen, deteriorated walls, inadequately covered drainage and cockroach traps, live cockroaches and ants, water stagnation, and missing records of annual medical examinations and vaccinations for food handlers.
The inspection at Gurukrupa Dairy Products found refined sunflower oil, vanaspati, or hydrogenated fat, and branded ghee being blended in two boilers to manufacture what the regulator described as counterfeit white and yellow ghee. The products were allegedly sold under the name “Pooja Ghee”, with information in small print that the FDA said could mislead consumers.
The premises also had rat and cockroach infestation, according to the regulator. Officials seized approximately 2,464.05 kg of adulterated and misleading ghee, refined sunflower oil and vanaspati valued at Rs 13,55,597. Two boiler machines and one khoya machine, together valued at around Rs 1,60,000, were also seized.
The action is part of a wider festive-season enforcement drive in Maharashtra. The FDA said it seized suspicious, adulterated, mislabelled and substandard ghee, khawa, peda, jaggery, oil, tea powder, sweets and other food products collectively valued at around Rs 30.82 lakh.
In a separate action, officials seized 3,310 kg of tea powder worth Rs 6,75,790 from the godown of Ashok Agro Products in Chandrapur on suspicion that it was unsafe or substandard. Six establishments in Sangli, Pune and Kolhapur were also covered under action by the Pune Division, resulting in the seizure of stock valued at around Rs 4,71,223.
The FDA statement did not specify the duration of the licence suspensions or the next compliance steps for the five Mumbai establishments. The seized products and equipment remain subject to the regulator’s enforcement process.
