The Discipline Behind Cleanliness
In Nagpur, an FDA crackdown has forced restaurants to look beyond taste to what lies behind the kitchen door. For International Housekeeping Week, celebrated every year from September 13 to 19, Clean India Journal’s Special Correspondent Samaresh Acharya meets Mandeep Singh Padam, Owner, Sanjha Chullah, established in 1994, on why housekeeping is now business-critical, where he observes the raids were not a disruption but a reminder.
For Nagpur’s legacy restaurants, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) reset has done what years of advisories could not — it has moved housekeeping from the back office to the balance sheet. And as International Housekeeping Week reminds the industry, what is unseen is what keeps the guest safe.
Key Checks
If an FDA inspector walked in tomorrow without prior notice, my eyes would go first to three areas – soiled linen, cleaning chemicals and store cleaning – all of which are always my first priorities.
The logic is simple and often missed. Soiled linen piled in a corner is cross-contamination waiting to happen. Chemicals stored next to food or in unlabelled bottles is a non-compliance that no amount of front-of-house polish can hide. And a cluttered, poorly cleaned store is where hygiene audits usually fail first.
These are not cosmetic issues. They are indicators of system discipline.
Action-Reaction
We have always tried to keep our standards up, after the inspection we are just more vigilant. At Sanjha Chulha, vigilance now means defined zones for chemical storage with labelling and MSDS (material safety data sheet), priority washing cycles for soiled linen, intensified cleaning of kitchen floors, side stations and wash areas, and tighter pest control documentation.
It is a shift from periodic cleaning to protocol-led housekeeping.
After the recent inspections, areas like pest control, designated chemical storage, linen recycling and kitchen washing have become daily focus points.
Critical Clean
For guests, a clean dining hall feels like a third-party certification. But the real risk lives behind the scenes — on kitchen floors, in drains, inside grease traps, exhaust systems, refrigerators, storage areas and waste zones. Our guests being satisfied with the front area is like an approval that we are up to standards. For behind the areas like kitchen and stores, we follow strict cleaning and pest schedule protocols, with timing between each treatment.
Structured Frequency
Our restaurant follows a structured frequency: Deep cleaning of floors and drains, degreasing of traps and filters, and sanitation of cold storage, all tied to closing and opening checklists. The idea is to move from “it looks clean” to “it
is sanitised and safe”.
“Pest control is the key concern. It can make or break an FDA audit” — Mandeep Singh Padam Owner, Sanjha Chullah
Breaking Cross-Contamination
Preventing cross-contamination between kitchen, dining, washrooms and waste-handling areas is where housekeeping meets food safety. Rigorous cleaning, masks, kitchen uniforms, regular hand washing, clean footwear, medical examination of staff — these are few things that come to mind.
In practice, this means colour-coded cleaning tools, separate footwear for kitchen and waste zones, mandatory uniform and handwash protocols, and no movement of staff from waste handling to food handling without changeover and sanitisation. It is basic, but when enforced daily, it breaks the chain.
Frequency & Proof
‘How often’ is actually often enough? At Sanjha Chulha, the kitchen is cleaned four times a day. Garbage is cleared every single day with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) partners at a designated time slot to avoid accumulation and bad odour. Food storage and stores are checked daily for expiry dates, mould and puffed cans.
The records are maintained manually department-wise so we can check specific area whenever we wish to. While digital systems are still catching up in standalone restaurants, manual checklists with department-wise ownership create accountability — a step that FDA auditors specifically look for.
Pest Control
Pest control has emerged as the major concern during recent FDA inspections across Nagpur. It can make or break an audit. We have multiple pest control partners and if any issue occurs it is addressed immediately. We do pest treatment every 45 days, and vendors provide all documentation — which chemicals are used, its potency, etc.
Beyond scheduled service, there is daily monitoring for warm, crunched spaces, droppings and signs of infestation. A regular check is there almost every day, and any infestation is addressed as top priority with no delay whatsoever.
Also, documentation is as important as treatment itself.
Training Important
Sustaining hygiene needs trained people, not just trained managers. We give insight and stick to HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) norms, and I personally oversee the Food Safety Training & Certification (FoSTaC) training, an FSSAI initiative.
We maintain proper food temperature control, personal hygiene, cross-contamination parameters, all of which are like a regular thing for our staff now. Budgeting for housekeeping, therefore, is not just about chemicals and mops, but about hand hygiene, protective clothing, waste segregation, safe handling of cleaning equipment and periodic medical examinations.
Mistake To Improve
We are human beings after all and are bound to make silly mistakes and we expect a few from our staff and myself too, but if mistakes are addressed with priority with no delay then it’s an improvement and not a mistake. We also hope that our guests understand that running a big unit is not a cakewalk.
