Wednesday, April 17, 2013 08:00 IST
Hoteliers and restaurateurs in Mumbai, perturbed at being incorrectly referred to as food manufacturing units by the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, and Regulations (FSSR), 2011, moved the Bombay High Court recently, stating that they merely run establishments where food was cooked and provided to the patrons as per their orders, and were not factories where food and beverages were manufactured in bulk, packaged and sold.
Pointing out that the Act stated that no food business operator was permitted to sell any item that was not clearly described in his license, a representative of the restaurateurs, said, “We are supposed to submit our menu with our application forms for licensing. By and large we adhere to the menu, but there are occasions when we make a dish according to the diner's choice. After all, we run a business where we offer tailor-made dishes.”
“There are a few references to hotels in passing at the end of the Act,” Shashikant Shetty, secretary, the Association of Hotels and Restaurants (AHAR), a Mumbai-based body, informed FnB News via telephone. He added that the petition they filed stated that norms laid down by the Central government were for the food and beverage industries and not for hotels and restaurants.
“The penalties imposed upon the owners of small- and medium-sized hotels and restaurants cost them a sizeable chunk of the turnover of these establishments. They are charged anything ranging between, say Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, under any pretext. The fines levied for violations of these norms by the hospitality industry are the same as those imposed on manufacturing units,” Shetty added.
“Regular food audits have also been made mandatory by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country's apex food regulator,” Shetty said, adding that minor amendments had been made to the Act to make it 'applicable' to the hospitality industry and some terms had been used rather loosely. Restaurateurs stated, according to the Act, labelled packaging food with its nutritional value is mandatory.
They added, “However, it is impossible for us to label each container that is home-delivered as it is made as per the choice of our guests,” adding, “Similarly, we cannot be asked to test the water that we use for cooking, because we get our water supply from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), but we can be held responsible for hygiene and sanitation. In fact, we are willing to comply with those norms.”
The association had earlier written to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra – the state food regulator – seeking clarifications because there was no mention of the term cooking in the Act, but the officials refused to help them saying it was merely an implementing body. The lawyer representing AHAR stated that they have been awaiting the date of the first hearing of the case. Incidentally, about 600 of the 1,060 inspected eateries in the city fell foul of the Act.
Hoteliers and restaurateurs in Mumbai, perturbed at being incorrectly referred to as food manufacturing units by the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, and Regulations (FSSR), 2011, moved the Bombay High Court recently, stating that they merely run establishments where food was cooked and provided to the patrons as per their orders, and were not factories where food and beverages were manufactured in bulk, packaged and sold.Pointing out that the Act stated that no food business operator was permitted to sell any item that was not clearly described in his license, a representative of the restaurateurs, said, “We are supposed to submit our menu with our application forms for licensing. By and large we adhere to the menu, but there are occasions when we make a dish according to the diner's choice. After all, we run a business where we offer tailor-made dishes.”
“There are a few references to hotels in passing at the end of the Act,” Shashikant Shetty, secretary, the Association of Hotels and Restaurants (AHAR), a Mumbai-based body, informed FnB News via telephone. He added that the petition they filed stated that norms laid down by the Central government were for the food and beverage industries and not for hotels and restaurants.
“The penalties imposed upon the owners of small- and medium-sized hotels and restaurants cost them a sizeable chunk of the turnover of these establishments. They are charged anything ranging between, say Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, under any pretext. The fines levied for violations of these norms by the hospitality industry are the same as those imposed on manufacturing units,” Shetty added.
“Regular food audits have also been made mandatory by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country's apex food regulator,” Shetty said, adding that minor amendments had been made to the Act to make it 'applicable' to the hospitality industry and some terms had been used rather loosely. Restaurateurs stated, according to the Act, labelled packaging food with its nutritional value is mandatory.
They added, “However, it is impossible for us to label each container that is home-delivered as it is made as per the choice of our guests,” adding, “Similarly, we cannot be asked to test the water that we use for cooking, because we get our water supply from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), but we can be held responsible for hygiene and sanitation. In fact, we are willing to comply with those norms.”
The association had earlier written to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra – the state food regulator – seeking clarifications because there was no mention of the term cooking in the Act, but the officials refused to help them saying it was merely an implementing body. The lawyer representing AHAR stated that they have been awaiting the date of the first hearing of the case. Incidentally, about 600 of the 1,060 inspected eateries in the city fell foul of the Act.
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