Coronavirus fear keeps consumers off eateries, meat

A top executive at a company that runs several restaurants across India speaks of increasing cancellation of large parties over the last two weeks

FSSAI says cooked meat including poultry was safe

NEW DELHI : The Covid-19 scare is driving people away from restaurants. And those who turn up are staying off non-vegetarian dishes.

A top executive at a company that runs several restaurants across India spoke of increasing cancellation of large parties over the last two weeks. “We have just received a cancellation of a party of 150 tomorrow at one of our restaurants in Noida," he said, asking not to be named.

With firms asking employees to work from home, “a lot of our boxed meals are being cancelled. Moreover, across our restaurant brands, we have seen a drop of non-veg food consumption by 15-20%, largely driven by a dip in orders of mutton and chicken," he said.

Sharmila Prasad, 39, a Faridabad resident, who runs a dance academy, said she and her family have given up on all kinds of meat as a precaution although there’s no scientific study on the subject. “I am a Bengali and meat is part of our daily diet. Just to be safe, my family and I have stopped eating all kinds of meat," she said.

A restaurateur in central Delhi said that footfalls were down this week. “Customers who have been walking in have some concerns and misconceptions around consuming meat. Although they’re inquiring about meat, they order vegetable and paneer rolls," said Nishant Agarwal of fast-food outlet Rolling Joint. Agarwal said demand for non-vegetarian orders was down 15-20%.

A delivery executive with a food aggregator said, “People are now ordering paneer dishes and dals," he said.

Online food ordering platform Zomato said it has not seen a seen any dip in orders yet. “We are actively working with our delivery and restaurant partners to ensure food safety and health precautions," a company spokesperson said.

Online meat ordering platform Licious claimed no dip in orders. On Thursday food regulator FSSAI said cooked meat including poultry was safe.