The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has suspended the licences of about 15 food business operators for not complying with its regulations related to the display of nutritional value in their menus.
The labelling and display regulation was implemented by the regulator in 2020 for food service establishments. It became effective on July 1 of this year. As per these regulations, food service establishments having central licences or outlets at 10 or more locations are required to mention the calorific value (in kcal per serving and serving size) of the food items displayed on the menu cards or boards or booklets.
Food services need to provide information related to nutrition, allergens, and ingredients, among others. According to sources, the FSSAI has suspended the licences of 16 food business operators (FBOs) who did not comply with the regulations.
According to FSSAI, around 70 FBOs have sought time for compliance. In fact, it had pushed them towards self-compliance… And as a result, most have complied or have sought some more time. Furthermore, those who have shown no sign of improvement or responsibility have been dealt with sternly by suspending their license.
In addition, the regulations also specify that e-commerce FBOs should get the requisite nutritional information from respective food business operators and provide it on their websites wherever applicable. Menu labelling will apply to food service establishments having a central licence; outlets at ten or more locations; and e-commerce FBOs selling food products of those mandated for declaration under menu labelling for such foods.
Event caterers and food service premises that operate for less than sixty days in a calendar year (consecutively or non-consecutively) are exempted from the scope of these regulations. In June this year, FSSAI asked online food platforms like Swiggy and Zomato to ensure compliance by food service establishments from July 1.
In a letter to all e-commerce food business operators (FBOs), FSSAI asked them to make provisions in their platforms, including mobile apps, for the display of calorific value and information related to nutrition and allergens. This would enable FBOs to feed the data onto online platforms.