NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Wednesday said it had issued notices to two prominent hotels in Delhi’s Aerocity – JW Marriott and Andaz Delhi – after inspections by officials found multiple food safety, hygiene and licensing violations on their premises.
At the Andaz Delhi hotel, operated by Juniper Hotels Pvt Ltd, an FSSAI inspection uncovered several deficiencies, including improper segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, pest activity, poor sanitation, inadequate food-handler hygiene and improper storage practices. Officials also found around 87 kg of expired sweets, along with an expired cake base and bread packets. The expired sweets were discarded on the spot.
The inspection further detected improper temperature monitoring, poor waste management, inadequate allergen segregation, structural and maintenance issues and lapses in supplier verification.
Vegetarian and non-vegetarian cutting boards were found soaking together in the Anayama Kitchen, while vegetarian burners were allegedly being used to prepare non-vegetarian food in the room-dining kitchen. Cockroaches were found near freezers, with houseflies, mosquitoes and spider webs were detected in the grinding room. A gutka packet was found in the bottling plant.
Officials further found expired bread packaging that had allegedly been re-date-marked, while a foul odour was emanating from chillers located between two bathrooms.
AT JW Marriott, a unit of Aria Hotels and Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd, officials found that the hotel was carrying out retail and relabelling activities without the requisite endorsement on its licence, including retailing products under the Marriott brand name.
The inspection also flagged misprinted FSSAI licence numbers, incomplete manufacturer addresses on pre-packaged food and failure to display the FSSAI licence prominently. Certain food products, including paneer, khoya, chana masala and chilli, were found without requisite licences or appropriate endorsements for verification.
Serious hygiene lapses were also recorded, including unclean utensils and food-contact surfaces, visible particulate matter in drinking water, inadequate pest control, and the presence of cockroaches and fruit flies. Other violations included fungal growth on apples, rotten tomatoes, uncovered food, damaged storage containers.
The food safety authority directed the food business operators to undertake immediate corrective measures and submit compliance reports with supporting evidence. The regulatory action will depend on compliance and the results of food samples collected during the inspections.
131 kg expired food destroyed in another campaign
Food safety teams collected 37 samples of milk products and sweets, and destroyed around 131 kg of expired food items as it stepped up inspections of sweet shops, manufacturing units and vegetable markets ahead of the festive season, officials said. Further action will be taken based on the test results, they added.
Inspection Findings
Flies, mosquitoes and spider webs were found
Veg and non-veg food not properly segregated
Expired bread and cake base were found during inspection
Fungal growth and rotten vegetables were found
