Significant Update

India’s food safety regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has issued notices to five-star hotels JW Marriott and Andaz Delhi after inspections uncovered serious hygiene and food-safety violations, including pest infestations, expired food and poor sanitation. Both hotels operate in Delhi’s Aerocity. FSSAI has directed them to take immediate corrective action and submit compliance reports with supporting evidence.

JW Marriott Inspection Finds Pest Infestation, Spoiled Food

At JW Marriott, FSSAI inspectors found cockroaches and fruit flies, along with unclean utensils and food-contact surfaces. They also found spoiled and fungus-affected food, improper storage and conditions that could lead to cross-contamination.

Inspectors found fungal growth on apples, rotten tomatoes, uncovered food and improperly stored cut vegetables. They also flagged inadequate segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, defective storage containers and poor storage practices. Several kitchen and food-preparation areas—including the Chinese, Indian, Italian and bakery kitchens—showed pest-control, sanitation and maintenance deficiencies. Some exhaust systems were not operational, while allergen segregation and food identification also fell short of requirements.

The inspection also identified issues in the water-bottling area, dry store, coffee shop and vegetable-preparation section. These included a rusting drinking-water storage tank, poor sanitation and fruit-fly infestation.

FSSAI also found gaps in licensing, labelling, temperature control, personal hygiene, traceability, pest control, allergen management and potable-water management.

Certain products, including paneer, khoya, chana masala and chilli, lacked the required licence or endorsement for verification. The hotel also reportedly carried out retail and relabelling activities without the necessary endorsement on its FSSAI licence.

Inspectors further found labelling deficiencies, including misprinted FSSAI licence numbers and incomplete manufacturer addresses. The hotel had also not displayed its FSSAI licence prominently on the premises.

Andaz Delhi Found With Expired Food and Pest Activity

The inspection at Andaz Delhi revealed similar concerns, including active cockroaches near freezers, houseflies, mosquitoes in the grinding room and spider webs. Inspectors also found a gutka packet inside the bottling plant area. The hotel had around 87 kg of expired sweets, along with an expired cake base and bread packets. FSSAI also found duplicate date-marking on expired bread packaging.

Inspectors flagged inadequate temperature monitoring, poor waste management, improper segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, inadequate allergen controls and weak food-handler hygiene. The inspection also identified structural and maintenance problems, poor supplier verification and receiving practices, and unpleasant odours. FSSAI noted that chillers were located between two bathrooms, with exhaust venting into the chiller section.

FSSAI Orders Corrective Action

FSSAI collected regulatory and surveillance samples from both hotels for laboratory analysis. The samples included ghee, mayonnaise, coconut milk powder, honey, lentils, tomato sauce, marmalade and cookies.

The regulator has directed both hotels to address the identified non-compliances immediately and submit compliance reports with supporting documents. Further regulatory action will depend on the inspection findings and laboratory test results. The notices form part of FSSAI’s broader enforcement efforts targeting food businesses and e-commerce platforms over food safety, labelling, advertising and related compliance violations.

Source: Rediff