Calorie count on restaurant menu cards must from 2022, says FSSAI

New Delhi: In a major move aimed at regulating the calorie count of food products, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has made it must for the restaurant chains and online food aggregators to display the calorie count of food products on menu cards. The new regulations would be applicable from 2022.

As per the new regulations, restaurants having central licences or outlets at 10 or more locations will need to display the "calorific value in kcal per serving and serving size" of food items on menu cards, booklets or boards.

"Even e-commerce food business operators will need to get their restaurant partners to display calorie information of food products on their digital platforms," it said.

According to FSSAI officials, the new norms would empower consumers in making the right food choices. However, compliance with these regulations before January 1, 2022 will be voluntary.

Industry players, however, said the implementation of these regulations is tough and should remain voluntary. In the past, too, concerns have been raised about the legal consequence of making claims through calorie value declarations on menus by industry bodies.

Notably, consultation with industry stakeholders on the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) First Amendment Regulations 2020 were on for the past two years.

According to the regulation, reference information on calorie requirements shall also be displayed clearly and prominently as an average active adult requires 2,000 kcal energy per day; however, calorie needs may vary.

Also, restaurants will need to clearly display information about potential allergens on their menu cards, if food items contain ingredients such as cereals containing gluten, milk and milk products, fish and fish products, groundnuts, treenuts, and soybeans, among others.

The logos of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes will also need to be displayed on menu cards, booklets or menu boards.

However, these regulations will not be applicable on event caterers and foodservice premises that operate for less than 60 days in a year.