‘Be wise, eat healthy.’ The great majority of food establishments at Kolkata Airport include a calorie count of the menu items on offer, which seems to be the message the airport is conveying to travellers. Certain companies are going above and above to disclose components like soy, milk, gluten, eggs, almonds, and gluten that some customers may be allergic to.
According to labelling and display regulations published by India’s food regulatory body, The Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI), restaurants with a central licence or outlets at ten or more locations are required to list the calorific value (in kcal per serving and serving size) of items displayed on their menu cards, boards, or booklets.
The calorie content of all the food and beverages is disclosed at all major international airports in the US and Europe. In particular, given that the airport is getting close to pre-Covid footfall, the present upgrade at Kolkata Airport is in accordance with the FSSAI guideline.
“Since an airport is an international facility, we have adopted the global trend of ensuring that customers get to make an informed choice. As people become more conscious about their health and calorie intake, we have urged food & beverage units to provide the information alongside the menu or the marker on the display counter,” an official of the master franchise dealing with F&B outlets at the airport said.
According to sources, the majority of establishments have listed the calories in all products on the menu that have become available since the Covid outbreak, even if some did publish the information on packed foods like sandwiches before to the epidemic. “After the pandemic, people have become more health conscious. This move complements their efforts to eat and live healthy,” said a salesperson at a kiosk selling juices and salads.
The biryani shop and the adjacent kiosk that offers sandwiches, samosas, and other savoury items both list the number of calories in each meal in kilogrammes. The sweet businesses that haven’t joined the group are the exceptions.
The move was positively received by flyers. “I like to maintain a healthy diet and keep a check on the food I eat. But during long waits at airports, especially during winter when flights get delayed due to fog, like everyone else, I too end up munching a lot of stuff. But from now on, I can keep tabs on the calorie count of the food I eat and know what to eat and what to skip,” said Saswati Bhatacharya, a freelance model and entrepreneur. Experts in nutrition and health praised the airport’s initiative as well.
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