Even as most of the hoteliers and restaurant owners in the city have started displaying price list of foods, they are yet to comply with the provisions of the Food Safety Regulations for exhibiting ingredients used in their food.
As per the provision of the Act, the seller of the food articles is bound to display the ingredients used in foods being sold.
High Court lawyer Basil Attipetty, who had obtained an order from the consumer court for enforcing the rules relating to display of price lists, said that the regulations had made it mandatory for sellers of any food stuff to display its ingredient list in their shops.
He said that the High Court had recently emphasised the need for regulating the prices of even hotel foods and thereby preventing fleecing by hoteliers.
Mr. Attipetty said that the Ernakulam Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum had also ordered displaying of price lists of food stuff in terms of the Kerala Food Stuffs (Display of Prices by Catering Establishment) Order, 1977.
He said that some of the hotels were yet to exhibit the price list of food stuff in compliance with the forum’s order.
He had contended that as per the order, the police and local bodies and civil supplies department had the power to direct hotels and restaurants to display the price list of food stuffs.
The forum had also directed the Kochi City Police Commissioner and Superintendent of Police, Aluva Rural, to file a report after implementing the order of the forum.
He pointed out that the police officers were yet to file a report on the compliance of the directive.
The High Court had also expressed its concern over the soaring prices of hotel foods and suggested bringing in a law to hold the price line of hotel food.
Only cooking medium
The Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association president G. Sudheesh Kumar, however, said that the hotels and restaurant owners need to mention only the medium used for cooking the food stuff as per the food safety regulations.
All the hoteliers had now only started applying for licences from the district food safety officers under new regulations, he said.
He added that all the hoteliers in the city were displaying the prices lists at their shops.
The cooking medium would be mentioned along with menu cards.
The hoteliers had been allowed sufficient time to comply with the new food safety rules, he said
