Mumbai’s iconic K Rustom Ice Cream Parlour, a decades-old landmark near Churchgate railway station, has been ordered to shut after the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended its licence over alleged violations of food safety and hygiene regulations.
The action follows a surprise inspection conducted under the state’s ‘Safe Food, Safe Maharashtra’ campaign, during which FDA officials reported multiple regulatory breaches, including the storage of expired flavoring agents, poor sanitation and failure to maintain mandatory cold chain standards for ice cream.
According to the FDA, the outlet will remain closed until laboratory reports on food samples collected during the inspection are received. The licence has been suspended under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act after inspectors identified what the regulator described as serious hygiene deficiencies.
During the inspection, officials discovered large quantities of expired artificial flavouring agents and essences allegedly intended for use in ice cream production. The expired stock—including flavours such as pistachio, pineapple, strawberry, blackcurrant, almond, rum Jamaica, lemon and mixed fruit—was destroyed on-site in the presence of the inspection team to prevent further use.
The inspection also revealed the presence of live rodents and flies in both the retail and storage areas. In addition, officials found that the establishment had failed to maintain the prescribed cold chain required for the safe storage and handling of frozen products, raising concerns over product quality and food safety.
The FDA also collected ice cream samples for laboratory analysis. Officials noted that an earlier test conducted by an external laboratory had reportedly found the product contained 7.94% milk fat, below the 10% minimum standard prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for ice cream, prompting further scrutiny of the outlet’s products.
The enforcement action was carried out on the directions of FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe as part of an intensified statewide drive to strengthen food safety compliance across restaurants, eateries and food businesses in Maharashtra.
The inspection was conducted by Food Safety Officers Tejaswini Patil and Akash Chavan under the supervision of Joint Commissioner (Food) P. R. Singarwad and Assistant Commissioner (Food) Anupama Patil. The FDA said further action will depend on the outcome of the laboratory analysis of the collected samples.