- FDA suspended Olympia Coffee House license over major hygiene violations.
- Inspection found cockroaches, meat-blood residues, and urinal in food storage.
- Eatery must rectify deficiencies for license reinstatement by FDA.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration suspended the licence of the 108-year-old Olympia Coffee House in Mumbai’s Colaba, following major hygiene violations in the restaurant. The authorities had found cockroaches, flies, meat-blood residues in the refrigerator and an urinal in the food storage area.
The food safety officials conducted the inspection on Wednesday after receiving a consumer complaint under its “Safe Food and Safe Maharashtra" campaign. A search uncovered several violations related to food storage, preparation, handling and hygiene, raising concerns over the safety of food served at the establishment.
Major Lapses Found
One of the most shocking findings was the presence of a urinal in the food storage area. Unclean water and damaged chopping boards were used for food preparation. The inspection also found cockroaches and flies on the premises, meat-blood residues inside the refrigerator and improper segregation of raw vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
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Further inspection revealed that out of the 35 food handlers in the eatery, 34 had not undergone the mandatory food safety training. The cafe also did not have the required water testing reports and essential sanitation records available for inspection.
The absence of the aforementioned reports and the physical hygiene violations formed part of the basis for the immediate action against the establishment.
Flagging these violations, the FDA suspended the food licence under Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which provides for licence suspension over non-compliance, along with the relevant food licensing regulations.
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The suspension implies that Olympia Coffee House has been directed to cease all activities related to the purchase, preparation, storage, sale and distribution of food during the stipulated period.
According to the FDA, the restaurant will be able to seek further action only after the deficiencies identified during the inspection have been completely rectified and the premises undergo a satisfactory re-inspection.
In July this year, Hollywood filmmaker Christopher Nolan and actors Tom Holland and Matt Damon had visited the Olympia Coffee House for a "quick tea stop" before their film 'Odyssey' premiere in Mumbai. The trio had tea with bun maska and a few desserts.