Mumbai: New Indian labelling requirements for imported foods and ingredients have led to a severe shortage of such items in Mumbai and across the country, hitting kitchens of top restaurants.
Huge consignments of imported meats, cheeses, sauces, edible oil and even mayonnaise, among other popular items, are held up at airports and ports over what authorities describe as insufficient information on the packages' labels.
The dwindling supply has left chefs wondering how to serve Greek salad without feta cheese, Miso soup minus silken tofu or Thai curry without fish sauce.
It's also eating into restaurants' profits: prices of foreign foods - labelled in Spanish, Japanese and Italian - have now doubled in Mumbai's markets, but most eateries are unable to hike rates on their menus after having already done so recently. If the supply doesn't improve, they may be forced to pass on the costs to the patrons.
22/02/14 Jharna Thakkar & Urvashi Seth/Mumbai Mirror
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Huge consignments of imported meats, cheeses, sauces, edible oil and even mayonnaise, among other popular items, are held up at airports and ports over what authorities describe as insufficient information on the packages' labels.
The dwindling supply has left chefs wondering how to serve Greek salad without feta cheese, Miso soup minus silken tofu or Thai curry without fish sauce.
It's also eating into restaurants' profits: prices of foreign foods - labelled in Spanish, Japanese and Italian - have now doubled in Mumbai's markets, but most eateries are unable to hike rates on their menus after having already done so recently. If the supply doesn't improve, they may be forced to pass on the costs to the patrons.
22/02/14 Jharna Thakkar & Urvashi Seth/Mumbai Mirror
