By Amin Ali & Jayashree Nandi | 21 September 2014, 12:45 PM IST
NEW DELHI: New instructions from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on labelling of imported food and alcohol have sent city hoteliers
and restaurateurs into a tizzy.
Consignments of black olives, a few brands of olive oil, a popular Swiss chocolate brand, a number of gluten-free products, nachos, Southeast Asian sauces and noodles, certain wines, beer and scotch whisky have either been rejected or stalled at various ports causing massive financial loss. If this continues, Delhi's dreams of becoming the gourmet capital may soon end, say chefs.
An FSSAI notification in July on alcoholic beverages, for instance, mandates that except for single ingredient products, all products are required to display the list of ingredients on their label, they also have to mention the manufacturing and expiry date for each product. This is often not the norm in the countries from where alcohol is imported. A similar notification was also released for canola or rapeseed oil. Restaurant owners claim that because of such guidelines, chefs have to opt for 'inferior-quality' ingredients available locally while their imports continue to rot at ports.
Between January 2014 and June 2014, as many as 165 imported consignments were rejected at the Delhi airport mainly due to "non rectifiable labelling defects" and "non submission of product approval certificate". In total 981 consignments were rejected in ports across the country with a majority due to labelling issues, according to FSSAI's data. FSSAI officials, however, refused to comment. "We are going by our notifications. All details are on the website," said B G Pandian, assistant director (imports) at FSSAI.
Meanwhile, gourmet outlets say import delays are bad news ahead of the festive season. "The worst is the restriction on Swiss chocolate as it is in huge demand during the festive season. Gluten-free products are also becoming popular in India because of health reasons but now most of them have been stopped. For olive oil and sauces, we usually suggest alternatives," said an employee of Nature's Basket, a grocery store that stocks exotic ingredients and foods. Citing the guidelines, he said that the manufacturing date, expiry date and maximum retail price of a product should be mentioned by the manufacturer on its label. A label pasted by the importer won't help, he added.
At the INA market, many of these products were unavailable. "When they are not being imported, what can we do? We can only offer alternatives," said Gulshan Luthra, a shopkeeper.
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and restaurateurs into a tizzy.
Consignments of black olives, a few brands of olive oil, a popular Swiss chocolate brand, a number of gluten-free products, nachos, Southeast Asian sauces and noodles, certain wines, beer and scotch whisky have either been rejected or stalled at various ports causing massive financial loss. If this continues, Delhi's dreams of becoming the gourmet capital may soon end, say chefs.
An FSSAI notification in July on alcoholic beverages, for instance, mandates that except for single ingredient products, all products are required to display the list of ingredients on their label, they also have to mention the manufacturing and expiry date for each product. This is often not the norm in the countries from where alcohol is imported. A similar notification was also released for canola or rapeseed oil. Restaurant owners claim that because of such guidelines, chefs have to opt for 'inferior-quality' ingredients available locally while their imports continue to rot at ports.
Between January 2014 and June 2014, as many as 165 imported consignments were rejected at the Delhi airport mainly due to "non rectifiable labelling defects" and "non submission of product approval certificate". In total 981 consignments were rejected in ports across the country with a majority due to labelling issues, according to FSSAI's data. FSSAI officials, however, refused to comment. "We are going by our notifications. All details are on the website," said B G Pandian, assistant director (imports) at FSSAI.
Meanwhile, gourmet outlets say import delays are bad news ahead of the festive season. "The worst is the restriction on Swiss chocolate as it is in huge demand during the festive season. Gluten-free products are also becoming popular in India because of health reasons but now most of them have been stopped. For olive oil and sauces, we usually suggest alternatives," said an employee of Nature's Basket, a grocery store that stocks exotic ingredients and foods. Citing the guidelines, he said that the manufacturing date, expiry date and maximum retail price of a product should be mentioned by the manufacturer on its label. A label pasted by the importer won't help, he added.
At the INA market, many of these products were unavailable. "When they are not being imported, what can we do? We can only offer alternatives," said Gulshan Luthra, a shopkeeper.
read more
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