Fixing portion sizes of dishes served by star hotels is impractical: HRAWI

The NDA government is planning to fix portions of food served in hotels in order to control food wastage. In a radio address on 26 March, the Prime Minister, Narendra Nodi had raised concerns about food wastage in India. Commenting on this, “Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) says, “Although the thought behind this concept is noble and we appreciate it but to implement this idea is highly impractical. It essentially would mean that hoteliers will now have to customise dishes or portions of a dish to individual appetites. If the suggested move does come into effect, the pricing would most certainly be affected making eating out more expensive for the consumer. Serving smaller portions may reduce food wastage but will definitely increase fuel consumption which translates to energy wastage. Consumers today are conscious about not wasting food and they don’t place orders for food items that they cannot consume. Over and above this, restaurants and hotels nowadays have tie ups with NGOs that pick up any excess food that is safe to consume and distribute it among the poor and needy.”