FDA advisory on food safety display boards, meat disclosure in hotels, restaurants in JK

Srinagar: The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has directed all hotels, restaurants, cafes and other food business operators to mandatorily display food safety information boards and clearly disclose the specific type of meat used in their preparations, officials said.

The directive, issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Rules and Regulations framed thereunder, places a statutory responsibility upon every Food Business Operator (FBO) to ensure that food offered for sale is “safe, properly represented and not misleading to consumers,” according to an official advisory issued here.

In a significant move to prevent misleading representation of food and enable consumers to make informed choices, the FDA has ordered that every FBO serving meat or meat products must clearly disclose the specific type of meat used in each food preparation — such as Mutton, Beef, Chicken, Fish or any other meat.

Such disclosure, the advisory said, must be made on the menu card, Food Safety Information Board and display counter/menu display, wherever applicable. It strictly prohibits the use of generic descriptions such as “Meat Curry”, “Meat Biryani”, “Meat Kebab” or “Non-Vegetarian” without indicating the type of meat.

“The information displayed shall be accurate, legible, and easily visible to consumers and kept updated at all times,” the advisory said.

The advisory further said that Food Safety Information Boards must be displayed at a prominent and conspicuous place within all establishments at all times. The boards must carry details of the FSSAI license number and customer care contact number.

Citing the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2018, the FDA said proprietors of hotels, restaurants and other food establishments selling or exposing for sale savouries, sweets or other articles of food shall display a notice board containing separate lists of the food articles prepared in Ghee, Edible Oil, Vanaspati and other edible fats.

The advisory has been circulated to all Designated Officers and Food Safety Officers, who have been directed to disseminate it among Food Business Operators under their respective jurisdictions and verify compliance during inspections conducted under the Act.

“Non-compliance with the applicable provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Rules and the Regulations made thereunder shall attract appropriate action in accordance with law,” the advisory warned.

The directive covers all Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes, Dhabas, Sweet Shops, Bakeries, Caterers and other Food Business Operators, officials added. (KNS)