Disclosing Portion Sizes in Restaurant Menus: Inputs Sought

Some of you have raised the issue of restaurants disclosing portion sizes (grams/pieces) in the menu. Some members have been demanding the need for restaurants listing half plates in their menus where possible. Both of these are suggested actions so consumer is better informed when ordering and food wastage is minimised.

We seek your various inputs on these two suggestions given by people and if you have any others to minimise food wastage. We will then take these up with Ministry of Consumer Affairs on priority so the appropriate policy changes can be considered.

We look forward to your inputs!

Below is the summary of the discussion on minimising food wastage we have had in the past for reference.

Key Issues and Solutions from Citizenry on Food Wastage

Food Wastage in India – Key Solutions

1.Warehouses should be built across the country to store food grains
2.Modern food storage technology must be introduced in storage godowns where state of food stored and godown temperature, moisture etc can be monitored.
3.A committee should be made to make sure that not even a single grain is wasted due to lack of storage facilities
4.Setting up of cold storage should be subsidised
5.Storage principle of first-in first-out should be followed
6.Pest control should be done in warehouse every quarter
7.The maintenance of warehouses should be outsourced to private companies who could be held responsible for their work
8.Middle men should be banned and farmers should be given direct access to the buyers and markets
9.Latest technology from around the world should be brought in to prevent food wastage
10.NGOs should be appointed to take sessions with farmers to create awareness about everything ranging from better seeds to latest technology
11.C-operative societies should be given a boost
12.Loopholes should be plugged and efficiency should be brought into the supply chain system
13.The data from the previous years should be studied and the distribution model should be forecasted well in advance every year
14.Wastage of food in marriages and parties should be minimized by laws that discourage throwing food or promote giving to the needy
15.NGOs could be encouraged to work in the field of collection of leftover food and distributing them to the poor and the homeless
16.Good marketing support of professional firms should be provided to the farmers growing perishable items
17.There should a mechanism to promote new entrepreneur in the area to import and export of organic food material from the rural side
18.The production of over-produced grains should be managed by educating the farmers on other prospects.

Food Wastage in India – Issues and Root Causes

1.Lack of warehouses to store food grains
2.Major pest problems in the existing warehouses
3.Warehouses are not maintained well
4.Farmers do not have direct access to the seller
5.Lack of technological advancements in the field
6.Lack of awareness among the farmers
7.Dearth of co-operative societies at the farmer level
8.The supply chain is miss-managed
9.There is a major delay in the distribution of the food grains
10.Money allotted to improve these facilities is lost in scams
11.A lot of food in wasted in marriages and parties
12.subsidy on setting up cold storage
13.Perishable food products are grown mostly by marginal farmers who lacks marketing facilities. more