FSSAI issues notices to JW Marriott, Andaz Delhi over ‘serious’ food safety violations; 87 kg expired sweets found
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Food regulator FSSAI on Wednesday said it has issued notices to five-star hotels JW Marriott and Juniper Hotels, which runs Andaz brand, at Aerocity in Delhi for serious violations of laws related to hygiene, including presence of cockroaches near freezers.
In a social media post, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) informed that it has issued notice to Juniper Hotels Pvt Ltd (Andaz, Aerocity, Delhi) following inspections that "uncovered serious food safety violations".
In another post, the regulator informed that it has issued a notice to JW Marriott hotel at Aerocity, which is a unit of Aria Hotels and Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd. The notice has been issued "over serious food safety violations and non-compliance with FSSAI requirements." The regulator has collected samples and further action would be taken based on lab reports.
During inspection at Andaz hotel, FSSAI said "several serious food safety and hygiene deficiencies were observed, including improper segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, pest activity, poor sanitation, inadequate food handler hygiene and improper food storage practices." The officials found expired food products, including about 87 kg of expired sweets, an expired cake base and bread packets.
Other deficiencies included inadequate temperature monitoring, improper allergen segregation, poor waste management, structural and maintenance issues, and inadequate supplier verification and receiving practices.
The FSSAI's inspection team collected regulatory and surveillance samples including cow ghee, veg mayonnaise, creamy coconut milk powder, honey twigs, yellow masoor dal, tomato sauce, orange marmalade and coconut cookies for analysis.
Elaborating further, FSSAI said that inspection revealed active cockroaches near freezers, houseflies, mosquitoes in the grinding room, spider webs, and the discovery of a 'gutka' packet inside the bottling plant area.
The FSSAI officials also observed duplicate date-marking applied over expired bread packaging, alongside severe unpleasant odours and chillers situated directly between two bathrooms with exhaust venting into the chiller section.
The regulator has asked the hotel company to take immediate corrective actions with respect to the non-compliances observed and submit a compliance report at the earliest along with supporting evidence.
In the past few months, FSSAI has cracked down against food business operators as well as e-commerce platforms for misleading claims, labelling and advertisements.