Maharashtra Revokes Licence Of McDonald's Outlet After Action Over Cheese

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revoked the licence of a McDonald's outlet in the state's Ahmednagar district after taking action against it over cheese, an official said on Saturday.

The eatery belonging to the fast food giant had faced FDA scrutiny for allegedly using a "cheese-like" product in their dishes without indicating that it was actually a cheese substitute, thereby misleading customers, he said.

Following an inspection and subsequent objections, the licence of the outlet was suspended, but it was revoked recently after the chain filed a compliance report confirming that they had removed the word 'cheese' from product names.

"In October 2023, we visited the outlet in Kedgaon and discovered that the names of food items displayed at the outlet included American Cheese Burger, American Cheese Nuggets, Cheese Burger, Italian Cheesy Lava Burger, and Blueberry Cheese Cake. All these names are their brand names for their products," said Rajendra Bade, a food safety official from FDA-Ahmednagar.

After analysing, Bade said, they found that instead of pure cheese, the joint was using a cheese-like product. "Technically, this is called a cheese analogue or cheese substitute. While pure cheese contains milk fat, the cheese analogue contains both milk fat and vegetable fat," he said.

FDA then sought the fast food giant's clarification over the presence of milk fat and vegetable fat in products advertised as containing cheese.

"Since their clarification was unsatisfactory, we suspended their licence in November last year. They appealed against the suspension before the FDA commissioner in Mumbai. The commissioner heard arguments from both sides and instructed the fast food restaurant chain that they cannot use the word 'cheese' in their product names if they are not using real cheese," he said.

In the order, FDA Commissioner Abhimanyu Kale directed McDonald's to revise their labelling and prominently tag the products as "cheese analogue nuggets" or "non-dairy cheese nuggets" in a font size and colour that is easily visible and distinguishable from regular cheese products.

The order also required the outlet to list the ingredients on the packaging, ensuring that the terms cheese analogue or non-dairy cheese are prominently displayed.

McDonald's was further told to keep customers informed about the use of cheese analogues in certain products through signage, handouts, and explanations regarding the reasons for using cheese analogues.

In their compliance report, Bade said, the American company said that they had amended the labels. "Upon receiving their compliance report, a decision was made to revoke the suspension, and they have been granted permission to resume business as before," Bade said.

Hardcastle Restaurant, a subsidiary of Westlife Foodworld Ltd, which has the franchisee rights to own and operate McDonald's restaurants in west and south markets in India, said in its compliance report to the FDA that it had renamed certain products by removing the word 'cheese'.

It listed the items as Cheesy Nuggets (now Veg Nuggets), Mc Cheese Veg Burger (now Cheddar Delight Veg Burger), Mc Cheese Veg Non Veg Burger (Cheddar Delight Non-Veg Burger), Corn and Cheese Burger (American Veg Burger), Grilled Chicken and Cheese Burger (American Non Veg-Burger), Blueberry Cheese Cake (Blueberry Cake), Cheesy Italian Veg Burger (Italian Veg Burger) and Cheesy Italian Chicken Burger (now Italian Chicken Burger).

Meanwhile, Hardcastle Restaurant said on Friday that it was engaging with the "competent authorities" in the FDA matter.

"We are actively engaging with the competent authorities on this issue and awaiting their final clarification. We have always been adhering to stringent food standards and are fully compliant with all applicable food laws," said a statement from McDonald's India (West & South) shared on BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) by Westlife Foodworld.

"Amid recent reports about the removal of 'Cheese' from our menu at McDonald's locations in Maharashtra, we want to assure our valued customers that only genuine, high-quality cheese is used in all our cheese-containing products," the statement said.

It further said, "Collaborating with suppliers adhering to global standards ensures top-quality cheese in our product offerings and not cheese analogues or any substitute." McDonald's India (West & South) said, "Our commitment to transparency in our ingredients and dedication to providing delicious, high-quality meals to our customers remains unwavering." 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Watch: On Gujarat Visit, PM Modi Holds Mega Roadshow In Jamnagar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a massive roadshow from Jamnagar airport on Saturday night after arriving in Gujarat. A large number of people lined up on both sides of the illuminated road holding saffron flags, and chants of 'Modi, Modi' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' filled the air as the PM's cavalcade moved towards the Circuit House.

During the two-km journey, PM Modi greeted people from his vehicle by waving at them.

At one point, the prime minister came out of his vehicle to wave at the enthusiastic supporters which included women and children.

#WATCH | Gujarat: A large number of people gathered to see the roadshow by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jamnagar. pic.twitter.com/oWtMhWWKDz

— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2024

The PM will halt at the Jamnagar Ccircuit House for the night. He is scheduled to attend two functions in the Devbhumi Dwarka and Rajkot districts in Saurashtra region on Sunday.

Earlier, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, state BJP president CR Paatil, and other leaders received the prime minister at Jamnagar Air Force station upon his arrival.

The PM is scheduled to inaugurate Gujarat's first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rajkot on February 25.

He will also inaugurate the four-lane cable-stayed bridge between Okha and Beyt Dwarka in Devbhumi Dwarka district.

As per a government release, the prime minister will arrive at Rajkot AIIMS on Sunday afternoon and address a rally at the Race Course ground in the city later in the evening.

He will take part in a kilometre-long road show from the old airport to the venue of the public rally, it stated.

During the function, the prime minister will also virtually inaugurate four other newly-built AIIMS, located in Mangalagiri (Andhra Pradesh), Bathinda (Punjab), Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh), and Kalyani (West Bengal).

PM Modi will also inaugurate and perform ground-breaking for projects of Rs 48,000 crore of different state and Central departments, such as NHAI, Railways, Energy and Petrochemicals, Road and Building, Ports and Health and Family Welfare.

Of these, projects of Rs 35,700 crore are for Gujarat, while the remaining are for other states.

The prime minister will launch key projects, including power generation projects in Kutch, ground-breaking for the new Mundra Panipat crude-oil pipeline project, a new cardiology hospital in Vadodara and doubling of the Rajkot-Surendranagar railway line, among others.

On Sunday morning, he will offer prayers at the Shri Beyt Dwarkadhish Mandir and then inaugurate the four-lane cable-stayed bridge between Okha and Beyt Dwarka island.

"The 2.32 km bridge, including 900 metres of central double span cable-stayed portion and a 2.45 km long approach road, was constructed at a cost of Rs 979 crore. The four-lane 27.20 metre wide bridge has 2.50 metre wide footpaths on each side," as per an official release.

The bridge, which was known as 'Signature Bridge', has been renamed as 'Sudarshan Setu' or Sudarshan Bridge.

Beyt Dwarka is an island near Okha port, which is nearly 30 km from Dwarka town, where the famous Dwarkadhish temple of Lord Krishna is situated.

At present, devotees visiting the temple at Beyt Dwarka can travel only during the day by boat, while the construction of the bridge will allow them to travel at all times, officials said.

The PM will also visit Dwarka town and offer prayers at Dwarkadhish temple before addressing a large gathering nearby.

From the venue, he will inaugurate or perform groundbreaking of several projects in Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka and Porbandar districts, according to the official release.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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US Spaceship Odysseus On Moon "Alive And Well", Images Expected Soon

The first American spaceship on the Moon since Apollo is "alive and well" following a drama-packed touchdown, the company that built it said Friday as it worked to download data and images from the uncrewed robot.

Odysseus landed near the lunar south pole Thursday at 6:23 pm Eastern Time (2323 GMT), after a nail-biting final descent when ground teams had to switch to a backup guidance system and took several minutes to establish radio contact after the lander came to rest.

"Odysseus is alive and well," Intuitive Machines, which achieved the first lunar landing by a private company, posted on X on Friday morning. "Flight controllers are communicating and commanding the vehicle to download science data."

The Houston-based company's stock price soared by 40 percent in early trading before paring back to 20 percent. 

Engineers are working to learn the robot's precise coordinates in the Malapert A impact crater and its tilt, as the landing phase was carried out by the robot autonomously, using its instruments to navigate the Moon's terrain.

The company said Odysseus, which is the size of a large golf cart, is upright -- a relief after the Japanese space agency's SLIM lander, which touched down in January, ended up upside-down. 

Private enterprise

Intuitive Machines pledged to soon downlink the first images taken by the lander, while "EagleCam," a camera could also soon release pictures from an external perspective after the device was shot out of Odysseus in the final seconds of landing.

Odysseus is the first success for a new fleet of NASA-funded lunar landers designed to carry out science investigations that pave the way for the return of American astronauts to the Moon later this decade, under the Artemis program. 

NASA, along with international partners, are planning to develop long term habitats in the south pole, harvesting ice there for drinking water and for rocket fuel for eventual onward voyages to Mars.

A moonshot by another American company last month ended in failure, raising the stakes to demonstrate that private industry had what it took to repeat a feat last achieved by US space agency NASA during its manned Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Underscoring the technical challenges inherent in the task, Intuitive Machines' own navigation system failed and Odysseus instead flew the final leg of its trip using an experimental laser guidance system developed by NASA.

Confirmation of landing was supposed to come seconds after the milestone, but instead nearly 15 minutes passed as announcers mused whether the hexagon-shaped craft had come down "off angle."

Finally, the company's chief technology officer Tim Crain confirmed "our equipment is on the surface of the Moon and we are transmitting," as applause broke out in mission control.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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IPL's "Digital Rating 130 Million, PSL's Is...": Najam Sethi's Bold Claim

The eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) ended on Saturday with Lahore Qalandars emerging as the winners. The Shaheen Afridi-led side defeated Multan Sultans by 1 run in a thrilling summit clash. Opting to bat first, the Qalandars posted a huge total of 200/6 in 20 overs with Abdullah Shafique smashing 65 off 40 balls and Shaheen playing a quick knock of 44* off just 15 balls. Later, the Sultans were restricted at 199/8 as the Qalandars lifted their second PSL title. As the thrilling T20 league of Pakistan is now over, the fans are gearing up for the 16th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), which will kick-start from March 31. 

IPL is regarded as the richest and the most loved T20 league in the world, due to it's massive fan-following and nail-biting action. However, Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Najam Sethi has now come up with a shocking opinion regarding the two leagues and stated that PSL is a bigger success than IPL in terms of digital ratings. 

"Let's talk about digital. PSL was only at the half stage, so I asked about our digital rating. Najam Sethi show used to have a 0.5 rating on TV, whereas PSL is getting a rating of more than 11. So, it would be 18 or 20, when it completes," Sethi said in a press conference ahead of the PSL final. 

"Over 150 million people watched it digitally. It is not a small thing. At the same stage, IPL's digital rating was 130 million and PSL's is more than 150 million. So this is a great success for Pakistan", he added.

Talking about IPL, the first match of the cash-rich league will be played between the defending champions Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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Inside Pics From Kareena's Son Jeh's Birthday Bash. Courtesy Saba Pataudi

Saba Patuadi, aunt of Jeh Ali Khan, shared some inside pictures from his third birthday celebrations and they are absolutely aww-dorable. Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan hosted a birthday party on Wednesday evening. In the first picture, Saba Patuadi can be seen posing with sister-in-law Kareena Kapoor. While Saba wore a floral dress, Kareena kept her style statement casual. She wore a yellow t-shirt and paired it with Jeans. Don't miss the giant Spider-Man themed cake in the pictures. The other pictures feature Kareena-Saif, Babita, Soha Ali Khan with daughter Inaaya at the cake-cutting ceremony. Saba wrote in the caption, "Birthday Boy Bash! Mahsha'Allah..#jehjaan turns 3! Take a look:

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Saba shared some funny pictures of Jeh to wish him happy birthday. She wrote in the caption, "My Jeh Jàan turns 3!Happy Birthday my Munchkin....1. Keep smiling and taking the world by storm! 2.Eat allllll the cake u want today! 3. And I will Always have your back my baby boy. Love U to the moon n back! Take a look:

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Soha shared a bunch of images of Jeh with herself, Kareena Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan, Inaaya (Soha and Kunal Kemmu's daughter) and Kunal Kemmu. She shared a few happy pictures of Jeh, in which the toddler can be seen smiling for the cameras. In one click, Jeh, seated on his father's lap, can be seen showing his mother a spoon while Kareena makes a funny face. In another photo, big sister Inaaya can be seen holding baby Jeh. Sharing the pictures, Soha wrote, "Happy birthday Jeh baba!!! Officially a three-nager." Take a look:

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The guest list at Jeh's birthday bash included Ranbir Kapoor with Raha,  Sonam Kapoor with son Vayu, Neha Dhupia with son Guriq, Amrita Arora, Soha Ali Khan-Kunal Kemmu, Malaika Arora, Randhir Kapoor and Babita.

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"India Is Standing Against A Bully": Top Bureaucrat On Situation At LAC

India is standing against a "bully" in a very "determined fashion", Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said on Wednesday, referring to the situation arising out of China's military assertiveness along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.

His remarks came while replying to a question during an interactive session at the INDUS-X Summit.

India and the US can play a pivotal role in shaping the geopolitical landscape of the Indo-Pacific, promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, Mr Aramane said.

"The possibility that we may encounter a similar situation to what we faced in 2020 is keeping us active all the time," he said.

Aramane was asked about challenges India is facing along the LAC and New Delhi's expectations from Washington to deal with common challenges.

"One thing which helped us very quickly is the intelligence, the situational awareness which the US equipment and the US government helped us with. So that is one single most important area ...," he said.

The defence secretary said the strong resolve that both India and the US support each other in the face of a common threat is going to be of critical importance.

"India is giving a face-off to our neighbour in almost all the fronts we have with them, wherever there is a mountain pass, we are stationed there... and wherever there is a road we have to be there. So that way we are there standing against a bully in a very determined fashion," he said.

Mr Aramane said India expects friends like the US to be supportive.

"We expect that our friends in the US will be there with us in case we need their support," he said.

"We greatly appreciate the support and resolve from our friends in supporting us during such an event, basically the information, the intelligence and any support by way of equipment will be of great use to us," he said.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

In his address at the summit, Mr Aramane stressed that India and the US are key stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific bounded by shared values and common interests.

"Today, we are witnessing a pivotal moment in the history of the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific, with its vast expanse of oceans and strategic waterways, stands as the crossroad of global commerce, geopolitics, and security," Aramane said.

"In navigating the complex dynamics of this region, India and the US find themselves as key stakeholders, bound by shared values and common interests," he said.

Noting that the robust defence partnership between the two countries is rooted in mutual respect and strategic convergence, Aramane also cited the launch of Initiatives on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) as a key measure to bolster ties.

"A pivotal aspect of our burgeoning relationship is the iCET that aims to establish 'Innovation Bridges' across key sectors," he said.

On the bilateral partnership in the aerospace and defence sectors, Aramane said, "Our bilateral relationship is flourishing, with India increasingly turning to the US for cutting-edge equipment and technology. The US in turn, sees India as a key partner in its Indo-Pacific strategy, leveraging India's growing defence capabilities." He also talked about the multilateral engagements where both the countries are stakeholders.

The defence secretary underscored the "success stories" of India's defence production, ranging from shipbuilding, including aircraft carriers, to the development of advanced platforms such as Tejas multi-role fighter aircraft.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Made Me Watch Porn For Spiritual Growth": Ex Nuns On Renowned Priest

Two former nuns said Wednesday that a world-renowned artist priest made them take part in threesomes and watch porn so they would "grow spiritually".

Slovenian mosaic artist Marko Rupnik, 69, is accused of sexually and psychologically abusing at least 20 women for nearly 30 years at a religious community in Slovenia.

"He took me to pornographic theatres to help me 'grow spiritually'," Gloria Branciani, who was a member of the community until 1994, told journalists at a press conference in Rome.

"He said that I would not grow spiritually if I did not meet his sexual needs," she said, describing how he sexualised religious concepts.

"We had another nun have sex with us because he said it was like the Trinity," Branciani said, referring to the central Christian doctrine of three persons within one God.

Rupnik was briefly excommunicated in 2020 for absolving someone of having sexual relations with him, but was reinstated after he formally repented.

He was finally expelled from the Jesuit order -- of which Pope Francis is a member -- last June.

In October, Francis waived the statute of limitations on the offences, opening the way for potential disciplinary proceedings.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of the abuse tracking site Bishop Accountability, which documents abuse within the Catholic Church, described Rupnik as a "powerful cleric who was protected at the highest levels of the Church and the Vatican."

The press conference comes five years after an unprecedented summit at the Vatican on sexual abuse in the Church, at the end of which Francis promised a "zero tolerance" approached.

"The Rupnik case shows that little has changed," said Barrett Doyle, who called for an independent investigation and the publication of its findings.

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