The central government is deliberating fixing portion sizes served by restaurants and hotels. This comes a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about wastage of food in his Mann Ki Baat programme.
The ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution is also planning to draft a questionnaire for restaurants to explain what portions should be served to a customer, Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.
“If a person can eat only two prawns, why should he or she be served six?” the reported quoted Ram Vilas Paswan, minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, as saying. Paswan further said that this is a colossal wastage of food and money.
About the questionnaire, Paswan asserted that they are “experts” and that they should inform the government about the “maximum amount of a dish a person can eat.” He further said that a meeting with all the stakeholders involved will be held shortly. He clarified, however, that these changes will apply to “standard hotels” and not “dhabas”.
The proposal for these changes comes on the heels of the ministry incorporating a new draft bill to amend the Consumer Protection Act. The new bill have have provisions like huge penalties on celebrities endorsing misleading advertisements.
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