Mumbai: A dead cockroach near the dishwashing station, flies across the kitchen, plaster peeling over food-preparation spaces, and washing powder stored alongside food. These were among the safety violations that led the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration to suspend the food business licence of the nearly century-old Bombay Presidency Radio Club, Colaba, Mumbai.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the club on Wednesday, 19 August, under the direction of Food Safety Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe and found it non-compliant on 47 per cent of the parameters assessed, according to an FDA release cited by NDTV Profit. The regulator ordered immediate suspension of its food licence, citing public-health concerns.
The Colaba club violated provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as well as hygiene requirements under Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards regulations. FDA Zone I invoked Section 32(3) of the Act and Regulation 2.1.8(4) to suspend the licence.
The order bars the club from purchasing, selling, or distributing food while the suspension remains in force. The action applies to its food operations, not the club as a whole.
Located near the Gateway of India and Hotel Taj Mahal Palace at Arthur Bunder Road on the Colaba waterfront, the Bombay Presidency Radio Club was established in 1928, initially as a centre for radio enthusiasts. Over the decades, it evolved into one of South Mumbai’s prominent private members’ clubs.
The club’s website says its members include families, professionals, entrepreneurs, and artists, many from neighbourhoods such as Colaba, Cuffe Parade, and Marine Drive. It has dining and banquet spaces, residential rooms, a swimming pool, health club, and facilities for badminton, billiards, and other games.
What inspectors found
According to the FDA release, inspectors found an infestation of live flies in various parts of the kitchen, apart from a dead cockroach and exposed cockroach traps near the dishwashing region.
Washing powder and other chemicals were kept alongside food products, while food and utensils were stored directly on the floor. Refrigerators used for non-vegetarian food were also found to be unhygienic.
The FDA further flagged improper thawing of food, unsealed kitchen doors, waste bins positioned close to cooking stoves, and staff helmets and clothes stored alongside food. Inspectors also found marks suggestive of spitting inside the premises.
A member of the club told ThePrint that before the FDA announced the suspension Friday, the Radio Club had circulated a notice among members saying its kitchen would remain temporarily non-functional following the inspection.
“Members are hereby informed that in view of the FDA inspection today, the kitchen operations of the Club will not be functioning for a short notice time until further Notice,” the message to members on WhatsApp read.
Sporting facilities would continue to operate, it said, while members were asked to use food-delivery platforms in the interim.
“During this period, Members can order Food from Swiggy, Zomato and other Food Delivery Platforms till further Notice,” the message said.
Radio Club was not the only prominent establishment to face action Friday. The FDA also suspended the registration of Khar Gymkhana, while a McDonald’s outlet in Colaba faced suspension after inspectors found hygiene violations, including cockroach infestation. Agency reports said licences or registrations of 13 food establishments were suspended Friday as part of the wider drive.
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Mundhe’s food-safety sweep
The action against Radio Club is the latest in an increasingly visible statewide crackdown since Mundhe took charge as Maharashtra FDA Commissioner on 25 May.
Between 25 May and 31 July, the department inspected 3,137 hotels, restaurants, eateries, and other establishments, suspending 165 licences, Mundhe told reporters earlier this month. The FDA also seized or destroyed 28.66 lakh kg of unsafe food products valued at Rs 55.72 crore.
In Mumbai, the drive has already covered some of the city’s best-known names.
The licences of Churchgate’s K Rustom & Co and Parsi Dairy Farms at Princess Street were suspended in July after inspectors reported live rats, flies, expired flavouring agents, and cold-chain lapses. The FDA subsequently acted against restaurants Shalimar and Noor Mohammadi, and the food operations of clubs including the Cricket Club of India (CCI) and the MIG Cricket Club.
The crackdown has moved beyond traditional restaurants.
Reuters reported last week that the FDA suspended permits of 12 Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart warehouses after inspections found problems ranging from cockroach infestation and rodent droppings to improper storage. The regulator inspected 86 establishments in that drive and issued 60 improvement notices. Four Domino’s outlets were also shut over hygiene violations.
Mundhe had said in an official statement last week—issued after a statewide crackdown on quick-commerce warehouses—that the regulator would “not tolerate any playing with public health”, warning of tougher action against unsafe food preparation and unhygienic storage.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)