The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has, in a Gazette Notification dated 21st August 2020, issued the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) First Amendment Regulations, 2020 (“Amendment Regulations”) to further amend Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 (“Original Regulations”).
The Amendment Regulations will be effective immediately and must be complied by the Food Business Operators (FBOs) by 1st January 2022.
Accordingly, under Regulation 2.4 of the Original Regulations which deals with Specific Requirements/ Restrictions on manner of labelling, a new Regulation 2.4.6 has been inserted specifying the following provisions for display of information in the food service establishments:
1. Food Service Establishments having central license or outlets at ten or more locations should mention the calorific value (in kcal per serving and serving size) against the food items displayed on the menu cards or boards or booklets and the reference information on calorie requirements should also be displayed clearly and prominently as “An average active adult requires 2,000 kcal energy per day, however, calorie needs may vary.”
2. Also, the Food Service Establishments should mention the information relating to allergens against the food items displayed on the menu cards or boards or booklets, if food consists of or are made of the following:
Cereals containing gluten i.e., wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt or their hybridized strains and products of these
Crustacean and their products
Milk and milk products
Egg and egg products
Fish and fish products
Ground nut tree nuts and their products
Soybeans and their products
Sulphite in concentrations of 10mg/kg or more
3. The food items displayed on the menu cards or boards or booklets should also include the logo for vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
4. Also, the above provisions shall not apply to the following:
event caterers and food service premises that operate for less than sixty days in a calendar year (consecutively or non-consecutively).
self-serve condiments that are free of charge and not listed on the menu; and
special-order items or modified meals and menu items as per request of the customer.
5. Furthermore, the Food Service Establishments should also provide nutritional information, various specific requirements, if applicable and information relating to organic food or ingredients, if claimed, for the food items sold by them to consumers upon request in the form of booklets or handouts or on their website. The deviation of twenty-five per cent. may be tolerated in case of nutritional information declaration.
Source: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
