Delhi restaurants told to tighten cold storage, menu labels and oil checks

Meat and other perishables should be transported in refrigerated vehicles rather than on two-wheelers, FSSAI officials told restaurant operators at a joint session in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Officials discussed compliance gaps identified during inspections, including suppliers using ice boxes instead of deep freezers, inadequate separation of raw and cooked food, and missing permissions for food moved from a base kitchen to outlets. Restaurants operating their own websites or apps also need a separate e-commerce licence.

Storage rules require ready-to-eat food to be kept on top, raw vegetables in the middle and sealed raw meat at the bottom. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian stocks must be stored in separate colour-coded containers. Restaurants must retain daily temperature records for at least three months.

Cooking oil must be discarded when total polar compounds exceed 25%. Restaurants cannot add fresh oil to degraded oil, and synthetic colours are not permitted. Menus must identify the oil or ghee used, mark vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, list eight major allergens and, for chains with at least 10 outlets, show calorie counts.

Sandeep Anand Goyle, who heads NRAI’s Delhi chapter, said the session was intended to help operators identify areas where they could strengthen their standards.