Rats, flies and greasy floors | Inside Mumbai's famed restaurants crackdown

Food safety inspectors in Mumbai have launched a rigorous campaign against hygiene violations, resulting in the closure of popular eateries.

When food safety inspectors raided a Mumbai dessert parlour famed for its ice cream sandwiches last month, they found rats, houseflies and expired flavouring agents.

At another beloved restaurant known for slow-cooked mutton and beef stews, they discovered meat stored in filthy containers, greasy floors and open windows that could let in insects and crows.

Both eateries were ordered shut in the toughest crackdown in years on restaurants in the megacity of more than 20 million people.

Residents of India's financial capital are fiercely protective of their food culture, but many have welcomed the closure of some of the best-known establishments over a lack of hygiene.

Much of the campaign has been driven by Tukaram Mundhe, the new head of Maharashtra state's food safety regulator.

"If they are abiding by the law... they have nothing to fear. And those who do not, they have no place to hide," Mundhe told AFP.

In July alone, his office inspected nearly 900 businesses and temporarily suspended more than 100 licences.

The sweep has targeted everything from top eateries and luxury hotels to canteens at elite institutions, including the nearly century-old Cricket Club of India.

Mundhe, who has 2.6 million Instagram followers, said he was surprised by how many owners lacked knowledge of even basic food safety rules.

"How to receive the raw material, how to store it, how to process it... whether there should be (special) flooring. Many of the things they are unaware (of)."

India has a robust food safety framework on paper, but enforcement remains weak.

Government data from 2022 to 2025 shows roughly one in six food samples tested by the federal regulator failed to meet key standards.

While Indians are used to street food carts that use grimy rags or rancid cooking oil, they have higher expectations for established restaurants.