FSSAI issues notices to JW Marriott, Andaz over food safety violations

FSSAI has issued notices to JW Marriott and Andaz in Delhi’s Aerocity after inspections found serious food safety and hygiene violations. Officials reported pest activity, expired food, poor sanitation, labelling issues and other deficiencies, with samples collected for laboratory analysis

New Delhi: Food regulator FSSAI on Wednesday said it had issued notices to five-star hotels JW Marriott and Andaz at Aerocity here for serious violations of food safety and hygiene laws, including the presence of cockroaches near freezers.

In a social media post, the regulator said it had issued a notice to JW Marriott hotel, which is a unit of Aria Hotels and Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd. The notice was issued “over serious food safety violations and non-compliance with FSSAI requirements.” In another post, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it had issued a notice to Juniper Hotels Pvt Ltd (Andaz, Aerocity, Delhi) following inspections that “uncovered serious food safety violations”.

---

The regulator collected samples from both hotels and said further action would be taken based on laboratory reports. During the inspections, FSSAI officials found serious deficiencies related to hygiene and sanitation.

In the case of JW Marriott, officials observed inadequate pest control, the presence of cockroaches and fruit flies, and poor maintenance of food premises.

In the case of Andaz hotel, the FSSAI 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.

Comments from both hotels could not be immediately obtained.

During the inspection at JW Marriott, FSSAI officials found “serious hygiene and sanitation deficiencies, including unclean utensils and food-contact surfaces, visible particulate matter in drinking water, inadequate pest control, cockroaches and fruit flies, and poor maintenance of food premises.” The regulator found spoiled/fungal-affected food at the hotel. It also observed improper food storage and cross-contamination risks.

“These included fungal growth on apples, rotten tomatoes, uncovered food, damaged storage containers, inadequate vegetarian/non-vegetarian segregation, improperly stored cut vegetables and food products not maintained as per prescribed storage conditions,” FSSAI said.

Moreover, FSSAI pointed out that various kitchens and food preparation areas, including the Chinese, Indian, Italian and bakery kitchens, showed deficiencies such as pest infestation, non-operational exhaust systems, poor sanitation, inadequate allergen segregation, defective storage containers, improper food identification and inappropriate storage of food products.

Deficiencies were also observed in the water bottling area, dry store, coffee shop and vegetable preparation area, including rusting of the drinking-water storage tank, deficiencies in imported-food labelling, poor sanitation and fruit-fly infestation.

“The overall inspection revealed deficiencies relating to licensing/KOB compliance, labelling, food storage, temperature control, sanitation, pest control, personal hygiene, cross-contamination prevention, allergen management, traceability, maintenance and potable water,” the regulator said.

Elaborating on the violations, the regulator said certain food products/materials, including paneer, khoya, chana masala and chilli, were found without the requisite licence/appropriate endorsement available for verification.

That apart, the hotel company was found carrying out retail and re-labeller activities without the requisite endorsement in its FSSAI licence, including retailing food products under the JW Marriott brand name.

“Labelling deficiencies were observed in pre-packaged food products, including misprinted FSSAI licence numbers and non-declaration of the complete manufacturer’s address,” the regulator said.

The FSSAI licence was also not displayed at a prominent place on the premises.

During an 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.” 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 the 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.

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 action 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 on food business operators as well as e-commerce platforms over misleading claims, labelling and advertisements.