FSSAI suspends Marche Retail licence, issues order against SDP Industries

Food regulator suspends Marche Retail's licence for 30 days over serious non-compliance and bars SDP Industries from selling ghee over adulteration concerns

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Sunday said that it has suspended the licence of Marche Retail and issued a prohibition order to SDP Industries.

 

In a post on X, the food regulator said that it has suspended the licence of Marche Retail (which runs Le Marche Retail) following serious non-compliance observed during an inspection and subsequent follow-up inspection of the food business premises. It has suspended the retail chain’s licence with immediate effect for 30 days.

 

“The FBO (food business operator) has been directed to immediately cease and desist from all food business activities until the identified deficiencies are rectified and compliance is verified by competent authority,” it said.

 

For SDP Industries, it said it issued a prohibition order over non-compliant ghee products and adulteration concerns.

 

“SDP Industries is directed to immediately stop the sale of all variants of ghee manufactured, stored or sold from its authorised premises and ensure that the prohibited products are not placed in the market or sold to consumers with immediate effect and until further notice,” FSSAI said in its post.

 

On Marche Retail, it also said that the establishment was found to have deficiencies relating to design, operational controls, sanitation, personal hygiene, food-handler training and mandatory record-keeping during the inspection.

 

It also said that mandatory medical records of food handlers were not available and prescribed food safety and hygiene documentation was not adequately maintained.

 

FSSAI also said that during the follow-up inspection, the unit achieved an overall compliance score of 37 per cent, placing it in the non-compliance category.

 

On SDP Industries, it said that multiple ghee products manufactured by the company, which included variants marketed under brands such as SHRADDHA, SHREE SARAS and GOKUL, were found non-compliant with the applicable requirements under the FSS Act, 2006, and the regulations thereunder.

 

“Considering the repeated and continuing nature of non-compliance across multiple samples, periods and product variants, the issue was not considered reasonably confineable to any particular batch or product,” it added.