Food items rotting in ports and airports as govt introduces new packaging rules

Khushal Dedhia of VK Stores in Crawford Market has been turning away customers; a note at Hypercity, Vashi 

New Indian labelling requirements for imported foods and ingredients have led to a severe shortage of such items in Mumbai and across the country, hitting kitchens of top restaurants. 

Huge consignments of imported meats, cheeses, sauces, edible oil and even mayonnaise, among other popular items, are held up at airports and ports over what authorities describe as insufficient information on the packages' labels. 

The dwindling supply has left chefs wondering how to serve Greek salad without feta cheese, Miso soup minus silken tofu or Thai curry without fish sauce. 

It's also eating into restaurants' profits: prices of foreign foods - labelled in Spanish, Japanese and Italian - have now doubled in Mumbai's markets, but most eateries are unable to hike rates on their menus after having already done so recently. If the supply doesn't improve, they may be forced to pass on the costs to the patrons. 

It's not just eateries. Foodies, too, are struggling to get their favourite Italian Parma ham or Thailand's Sriracha sauce from local vendors and at big stores. 

"We are facing import challenges along with the industry to source international range of products," read a sign stuck in the food section of HyperCITY, Vashi. 

Made in India 

The problems arose late last year after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Union health ministry agency that supervises food imports to ensure quality, started enforcing stricter labelling rules. 

The norms require manufacturers of prepackaged food items to: clearly explain the contents in English or Hindi, list the ingredients used and nutritional values, provide complete name and address of the producer and the country of origin. 

They also demand sticking of green and brown labels for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items, respectively. 

While most countries have packaging requirements, they are not uniform, which made it difficult for Indian authorities to check consignments of imported food items for quality. In 2010-11 the government introduced new labelling standards for all food importers. It was only last September the FSSAI decided to hold back consignments for labelling infractions. 

Stocks rotting 

"For the past few months, I have been hearing horror stories from employees of consulates about how stocks of expensive ham and rare cheeses have been just lying at airport customs or in containers at the dockyard," Kabir Suri, CEO of Azure Hospitality, which owns the restaurant chain Mamagoto. 

"It's not just Mumbai; Delhi is also facing a supply shortage. Silken tofu, mushrooms, Japanese wine vinegar, Mirin sauce and sunflower seeds, which we use liberally at Mamagoto, have all but disappeared from most suppliers' product lists." 

While gastronomists and hoteliers agree that quality checks are important to prevent entry of substandard or spoiled food items into Indian markets, they want more time to speak to manufacturers abroad to implement new packaging rules. 

The Forum of Indian Food Importers has already made numerous representations to the FSSAI in this regard. Rakesh Banga, director at Banyan Fine foods India Pvt Ltd and founder-director at the importers' forum, said an importer can only add the company's name, food safety logo and manufacturing date on the label. Other details, including nutritional values, have to be specified by the manufacturer. 

"We are not saying that products made in Thailand should not meet Indian requirements," siad Banga. "All we are asking for is some more time to implement the law. We have been making representations to the health ministry and to the FSSAI, and we hope to get some relief." 

On the other hand, persuading manufacturers abroad to changing the packaging is proving to be difficult. Already, many manufacturers have cancelled their consignments for India over the new rules. 

End user will be hit 

The order rejections have pushed up prices of foreign foods in local markets and at retail stores. The price of mayonnaise, a popular egg-based sandwich spread, has shot up from Rs 250 to Rs 500 in the past few months. 

Most markets, however, do not have mayo in their stocks. 

Abottle of Thai fish sauce that cost around Rs 80 till a few months ago is sold for Rs 150. Olive oil is also in short supply, while Kraft cheese has all but disappeared from shelves. 

Traders from Crawford Market have been running from port to dock to source whatever stock is still available. "Since November, we have been facing a huge shortage of imported cheese and edible oils. The problem is so severe that we are turning away customers," said Khushal Dedhia, owner V K Stores. 

Hitesh Keswani, director of Silver Beach Entertainment and Hospitality Private Limited, revealed that his restaurants profits had dropped by 30 per cent because of rising prices of foreign food items. 

"Of our six distributors, five have decided to increase all product prices. We had increased our menu rates late last year so we cannot pass on the costs to our customers right now," said Keswani, who owns Silver Beach Cafe, Nom Nom, Copa, Park Bench and Jantar Mantar. 

Nikhil Chib, chef and owner Busaba and Busa-Go, said his costs too had gone up significantly. "Imported products' prices have gone up by 100 per cent. We, of course, don't intend to share the costs with our patrons. We will wait and watch what the government does to help the industry."