The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) initiative for every restaurant dish to have full nutritional information listed alongside both physical and online menus seems to be a slow-cooking one.
While the regulation, mandatory for restaurants with a central licence or outlets at 10 or more locations, was notified in November 2020 and outlets were required to comply with the norms by January 1, 2022, with a deadline extension to July 1 later, compliance is far from taking effect.
In response to an email sent by FE, FSSAI said the authority is still in the process of developing an online mechanism to help licensing authorities and food safety officers to digitally identify the food business operators (FBOs) who need to comply with the above regulation.
The FSSAI had ordered to display the calorific value (in kcal per serving and serving size), and food allergens on menu cards, boards or booklets to ensure transparency in menu labelling, and promote healthier eating habits among Indians by providing full nutritional information.
The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) said they have passed on the FSSAI directive to its members. “As long as the information is displayed at the outlet, it does not have to be on the menu,” said Pranav Rungta, vice-president, NRAI, who has not seen any compliance issues with over 40,000 members representing nearly 500,000 food service establishments.
“The guidelines are followed either inside the outlet or on handbooks. There have been no queries regarding this so far from FSSAI nor did we have any FSSAI audits/escalations highlighting any non-compliance. We have done the due process of educating our members and mostly large corporates have complied,” said Rungta.
Health information, especially calorie count, becomes imperative as takeaway foods are largely unhealthy. In India, last year, biryani was the most ordered dish with over 10.09 crore orders, pizza the second-most ordered dish with over 7.45 crore orders and noodle bowls the third-most ordered dish, with over 4.55 crore orders on Zomato. India ordered 2.5 biryanis per second on Swiggy last year.
But neither the food delivery apps Zomato and Swiggy, nor biryani brands like Biryani by Kilo, Bikkgane Biryani, Biryani Blues or Behrouz Biryani display the calorific value of the food items on their online menus. Food delivery apps Zomato and Swiggy did not respond to queries mailed by FE.
For consumers to become more health-conscious, these regulations offer clarity and trust, fostering a more informed and responsible dining culture. However, these menu labelling regulations place an additional burden on small and medium-sized food establishments that may struggle to comply.
“The rigid requirements could stifle creativity in menu design and impose extra costs, potentially leading to increased prices for consumers. These regulations, though well-intentioned, risk creating unnecessary complexity in an industry already grappling with numerous challenges,” said Rahul Singh, founder & CEO of Beer Cafe, which has over 50 outlets.
Even as implementing accurate nutritional profiling can be complex, particularly for a diverse menu, the need for precise ingredient measurements and standardisation across all outlets adds a layer of operational complexity.
“The process of nutritional analysis, whether done in-house or through third-party services, involves significant costs. For QSRs, especially startups, this can be a financial burden. But transparency is key, there is a risk that customers may focus solely on calorie counts or other metrics, potentially overlooking the overall nutritional value of a balanced meal,” said Nidhi Singh, co-founder of QSR chain Samosa Singh, which has over 14 outlets and 40 cloud kitchens across India.
Popular brands Haldiram’s, Domino’s and Bikanerwala do not display the caloric value of food items on online/offline menus, while brands like Pizza Hut and McDonald’s India (West & South) have duly complied with the new guidelines. The McDelivery app has integrated this regulation into the product development process well before it became a requirement. “As an ongoing process, we monitor and comply with all regulatory mandates, including the recent government requirements, which have been fully met. The brand works diligently to not only meet but often exceed these standards, further enhancing customer awareness,” said the company spokesperson.
Wow Momos operates 650 stores nationwide and sees this change as a step forward. “Health has been a top priority so we introduced wheat momos and will soon launch our range of gluten-free momos in the next quarter. We are also in the process of making the nutritional information upfront in menus, bills and displays itself,” said Murali Krishnan, CMO & co-founder of Wow! Momo Foods.
Global surveys suggest over 75% of street takeaways and restaurant food is unhealthy. The Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) latest dietary guidelines estimated that 56.4% of the total disease burden in India is due to unhealthy diets with an upsurge in the consumption of highly processed foods, laden with sugar and fat.