Meat on menu? Tell govt before starting your food business

Looking to open a restaurant? You may soon have to specify if you plan to serve vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes.

- Priyanka Sharma

Looking to open a restaurant? You may soon have to specify if you plan to serve vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes. Eateries must declare their menu type while applying for registration or renewal of licence, and non-vegetarian outlets must specify if they plan to sell beef or pork, a top panel at the national food safety regulator said. Also on the cards: A national list of all vegetarian and non-vegetarian restaurants.

"The move aims to respect cultural dietary practices while ensuring consumers have clear information about the food they are purchasing or eating at the restaurants," an official aware of the matter said. The proposal was taken up after a suggestion from the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure transparency in the food safety ecosystem, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

Eateries currently in operation will also need to update the information in the future, a second official said, adding that if a vegetarian restaurant wants to switch to a non-vegetarian menu, it has to apply for the licence first.