FSSAI moves to check food wastage in restaurants

India’s food safety regulator is drafting rules to check food wastage at restaurants and social events such as weddings.

NEW DELHI: India’s food safety regulator is drafting rules to check food wastage at restaurants and social events such as weddings.The regulations, which will deal with issues ranging from hygiene to transportation of the leftover food, will be finalised soon and then be notified. Any violation of the norms will be discouraged by provisions for heavy fines of up to RS 5 lakh, said officials in the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The draft policy suggests that food controllers in states be responsible for checking instances of major food wastage.

“Food wastage in India is rampant and it is a careless practice that needs to stop,” said an FSSAI official. “These rules will tell states what can be done to prevent such wastage and what is to be done to make the best use of large amounts of leftover food. We will ask the states to adopt the policy at the earliest.”The policy is likely to recommend that all event organisers and caterers register themselves with NGOs to manage the surplus and leftover food for distribution among the underprivileged.It will also say that food preparation should be according to the number of guests.

“If the food is surplus due to lower turnout of guests and the resultant low consumption, then it will be the responsibility of the organiser of the wedding or any other function to remove that food from the social function site immediately as per the proposed norms,” an official said. The regulations are coming on the heels of the Delhi government preparing a draft policy to keep a check on wastage of food at social events in the national capital.