BakeryBiz, Nov-Dec, 2020:

COVID impact has been felt across sectors and the lockdown has resulted in a considerable amount of job loss, especially for the hospitality industry which has taken one of the biggest hits. Many industry professionals, owing to lack of opportunity and the rising demand for home delivered food, turned into entrepreneurs by getting into online catering and food delivery.

Given the rampant supply of food from makeshift kitchens and home kitchens, and to ensure that the safety standards and quality guidelines are adhered to, the State Food Safety Department, taking into consideration the directions of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently announced that if such start-ups do not have a registration or license, they may be fined 5 lakh and face imprisonment for up to six months.

With restaurants shutting down and a majority of people stuck at home for long periods, online food delivery has become the preferred alternative. And with prolonged days at home, many have been opting for local, cheap and home-cooked food delivered to their doorsteps, giving rise to a number of such makeshift home kitchens. However, in an informal setup such as a home kitchen, there is no way for customers or for food safety regulators to find out if safety standards were being followed in terms of cooking procedures, products used, and other aspects. “These guidelines would in some form make the operators more responsible towards what they serve,” quoted a restaurateur who had to shut down operations due to cost overruns and lack of business.

Food delivery platforms have been a boon for these self-started businesses. Even as the hospitality sector across the world has faced massive losses, food delivery apps like Swiggy and Zomato have fared the pandemic well. In a recent social media post in October, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal claimed that business was back to pre-Covid-19 pandemic times. Swiggy has also reported orders at 85 percent.

FSSAI rules for home kitchens are as follows:

• Businesses with sales above Rs. 12 lakh require a license.
• For sales below Rs. 12 lakh, registration is mandatory through the Akshaya Kendra on the FSSAI website.
• Selling items without labels attract a penalty of Rs. 3 lakh.
• Selling homemade cakes without quality tags attract a penalty of Rs. 5 lakh.