Which restaurants must show calories on the menu in Maharashtra?

Under Order FDA/COMM/FOOD/HRE/716-2026/07, food business operators with 10 or more outlets in Maharashtra under the same brand or franchise must display calorie information per serving on menus and aggregator listings.

What allergens must be declared on restaurant menus?

Major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat (gluten), and soy. Declare presence or risk of cross-contact for each menu item — on printed menus and digital aggregator profiles.

Do Swiggy and Zomato listings need calorie labels?

Yes for in-scope chains — aggregator menus are treated as point-of-sale material. Incomplete or missing allergen data on platform listings can trigger misbranding action during FDA drives.

What is the penalty for missing calorie or allergen labels?

Misbranding under food-safety law carries penalties up to ₹3 lakh. During 2026 enforcement, chain operators were asked to update menus before re-inspection deadlines.

Menu calorie and allergen labelling: who must comply?

Menu labelling moved from voluntary nutrition marketing to an enforcement item in 2026. Maharashtra FDA Order 716/2026 requires chains with 10 or more outlets to display calories and allergens on physical menus and aggregator platforms. This guide clarifies who must comply, what to print, and how it connects to the compliance order hub.

Who is in scope — and who is not

The 10-outlet threshold counts Maharashtra premises under one brand, franchise, or corporate group. A Mumbai-only chain with 12 outlets is in scope. A national brand with 3 Maharashtra outlets is not — yet. Cloud kitchens operating multiple virtual brands from one licence should confirm counting rules with their food-safety consultant.

Single-outlet restaurants are not the primary target — but inspectors increasingly ask about allergen awareness during hygiene drives. Document what you know.

What must appear on the menu

Element	Requirement	Example
Calories	Per standard serving (kcal)	Butter chicken — 520 kcal per serving
Allergens	Declare contained or cross-contact risk	Contains: milk, nuts. May contain: gluten
Format	Legible on print and digital menus	Icon key + text; not buried in footer
Aggregators	Same data on Swiggy/Zomato item pages	Per-dish allergen tags enabled
Updates	Revise when recipe changes	Seasonal specials included

How to calculate calories without a lab

Most chains use recipe-based nutrition analysis — ingredient weights from your standard recipes fed into nutrition software or a certified dietitian. FSSAI does not require lab testing for every dish, but values must be defensible if challenged. Start with top 20 sellers; expand coverage quarterly.

Recipe costing tools — if you already use recipe costing, add nutrition fields to the same BOM.
Aggregator APIs — bulk-upload allergen tags via POS integrations (Petpooja, UrbanPiper) where supported.
Regional dishes — thali components need per-item breakdown, not just a platter average.

Allergen declaration best practice

List allergens in plain language — not just codes (e.g. "milk" not E-numbers only).
Flag cross-contact for shared fryers, tandoors, and prep boards.
Train service staff to answer allergen questions without guessing.
Update specials boards weekly — handwritten inserts need allergen notes too.
Keep a master allergen matrix in the kitchen for inspectors.

Enforcement and penalties

Missing or misleading calorie and allergen information falls under misbranding — penalties up to ₹3 lakh. It often appears on improvement notices alongside packaging violations and licence issues. See penalties explained for the full matrix.

Chain rollout timeline (suggested)

Week 1: Audit top 20 SKUs — collect recipes and current allergen gaps.
Week 2: Run nutrition analysis; approve kcal values with kitchen head.
Week 3: Update print menus and aggregator listings in parallel.
Week 4: Staff briefing + spot-check at 3 random outlets.
Ongoing: New dish launch checklist includes calorie and allergen fields.

Self-audit for menu compliance

Forkcast Inspection Ready includes menu and documentation zones mapped to Order 716/2026 — useful even for sub-10-outlet operators building good habits before the threshold bites.

Run Inspection Ready audit →