Amid FDA crackdown, Maharashtra restaurants rush to food safety experts to fix kitchen gaps

The Food and Drug Administration's recent crackdown on food safety violations in Pune, Mumbai, and other Maharashtra cities has compelled many hotels and restaurants to seek expert help to address kitchen hygiene issues and legal compliance. Facing temporary closures, establishments are turning to specialized food safety consultants to rectify non-compliance points and restore their operating licenses.

A Mumbai hotel, for instance, received a notice highlighting nearly 40 non-compliance issues and hired Pune-based Foodkida to overhaul its food safety management system. Foodkida founder Akash Chakor reported a surge in demand for technical support from the hospitality industry. The regulator's enforcement actions have followed strict inspections in Pune, where over 60 suspension orders were issued due to severe hygiene violations and inadequate sanitation measures.

Industry associations, like the Pune Restaurants and Hoteliers Association, welcome the regulator's actions, emphasizing that failing to maintain basic hygiene in kitchens is unacceptable. Restaurant operators are engaging food consultants to conduct hygiene and sanitation audits, provide mandatory Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) for kitchen staff, conduct routine ingredient and water quality testing, ensure commercial pest control, obtain employee medical fitness certifications, and develop standard operating procedures for safe food handling.

FSSAI is also intensifying preventive education through the FoSTaC and Eat Right India initiatives, training over 300,000 street food vendors nationwide, including more than 10,000 in Mumbai, to promote hygiene, safe food handling, and waste management.