FSSAI sends notices to eateries for not complying with calorie count order

The Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) has sent notices to several eateries for not complying with the regulator's latest norms of labelling and displaying the calorie count of dishes on their menus, reported The Economic Times on Tuesday. 

The FSSAI in its notices to restaurants, including some five-star hotels, warned that those who have failed to comply with its order will have to shut shop. 

“We have sent notices to top restaurants for not complying,” said FSSAI's CEO Arun Singhal told ET.

The regulator's latest norms, which were notified in November 2020, make it mandatory for restaurants with central licence or more than 10 outlets to mention in kcal per serving and serving size the calorific value of items on their menus, boards, or booklets. 

The last date for restaurants to comply with these norms was January 1, 2022, but it was later extended to July 1. 

Singhal told ET that even after the deadline, many have not complied with the norms yet. 

Restaurant operators have argued that the exercise is complex, and more time is needed to execute the same. 

“If a brand has 150 recipes, then all of them have to be analysed. Some chains have multiple brands and each brand could have a different cuisine or menu that could vary with states,” Kabir Suri, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), told ET. NRAI represents over 500,000 restaurant operators in India.

Suri added that the association is in talks with the FSSAI to seek more time to comply with the new norms. 

However, specialty Restaurants chairman Anjan Chatterjee told ET that the fine dining restaurant operator has been working “diligently” on complying with the requirements. The chain, which includes Mainland China, Asia Kitchen by Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta and Sigree-Global Grill, have completed 90 per cent of the work, Chatterjee told ET.