From July 1, no newspaper use in food packaging

The food safety authorities are out to implement a ban on newspaper and plastic sheets for restaurant takeaways.

Eateries won’t be allowed to use recycled plastic and newspapers to serve and pack food.

The Food Safety Standards Association of India says it will enforce the ban from July 1.

It says the unorganised food sector uses hazardous packaging material, and that will have to stop.

Though FSSAI issued a notice in December last year, not all eateries switched to non-plastic packaging; the trade says the alternatives aren’t feasible.

Manu Chandra, chef and member of the National Restaurant Association of India, thinks the decision was long overdue.

“It’s an incredible move and it should have come a long time ago, but you can’t just ban something without providing alternatives,” he says.

Among the ‘biodegradable’ options available, not all are officially approved.

“Most restaurants have removed single-use plastics. But it’s when the BBMP comes in and fines us for using biodegradable plastic, saying it has starch, that we face problems,” he told Metrolife.

Madurai Idli Shop, which specialises in chutneys with a Tamil Nadu flavour, has switched to biodegradable plastics and recyclable containers.

Gautam Kumar, director of the restaurant chain, says the packaging is not cost-effective.

“All these still have a bit of plastic that can mix with the hot food poured in there. Unfortunately, no matter how environment-friendly everyone is trying to be, the lids for these containers are still plastic,” he says.

Given the rising demand for environment-friendly containers, manufacturers have bumped up their prices.

“Online food orders have gone up. We get about 80 orders in a day which means more containers. There is also packaging. So even if our prices aren’t heavy on the pocket, with all these charges, customers think hard before placing an order,” he says.

At south Indian restaurants such as Madurai Idli Shop, New Shanti Sagar and Vasudev Adigas, customers take their own containers.

“People tend to bring all sizes of containers and that alters the portioning. At places like ours, we don’t have one specific portioning, and we end up serving more,” Gautam explains.

What about street vendors who use newspapers and plastic sheets to serve their items?

Food wrapped in newspapers are likely to absorb printing ink, which contains bioactive material, say experts.

“Newspapers have heavy metals like graphite, lead and cadmium. According to a research paper, 50 per cent of Indian children have elevated blood lead levels, which can lower their IQ levels and hamper growth,” says nutritionist Ryan Fernando of Qua Nutrition.

He says pigments, colours, binders, and additives used in print can damage the liver. He recommends organic beetroots to detox.

What now?

Restaurateurs expect the government to come up with realistic alternatives, and not just ban existing packaging material.