MCD rolls out New York-style hygiene rating system for Delhi restaurants

Diners in Delhi will soon be able to judge a restaurant’s hygiene standards before stepping inside, with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) introducing a public grading system under which eateries will be assigned ratings from ‘A’ to ‘D’ based on kitchen cleanliness, food handling, pest control, waste disposal and staff hygiene.

Modelled on New York City’s health grading system, the mechanism was introduced last month as part of the MCD’s first comprehensive revision of operational guidelines for eating establishments, replacing inspection practices that had largely remained unchanged since 1964. Every establishment will begin with a score of 100 during inspections. One point will be deducted for every minor violation, four points for every major violation, and 10 points for every critical violation before a final hygiene grade is assigned.

As per the guidelines, establishments scoring between 90 and 100 will receive Grade ‘A’, those scoring between 75 and 89 Grade ‘B’, between 60 and 74 Grade ‘C’, while those scoring below 60 will receive Grade ‘D’. Any establishment recording two or more critical violations will automatically receive Grade ‘D’ regardless of its final score.

“The grading system is meant to improve transparency. Customers will know how an establishment performed during inspection, while businesses maintaining higher standards will also benefit,” a senior MCD official said.

The Hygiene Rating Certificate will have to be displayed prominently at the entrance of every establishment, with failure to do so itself amounting to a violation of licence conditions. The inspections themselves are also being revised.

Officials said that instead of brief, largely uniform inspections focused on documentation, inspectors will now examine a detailed set of food safety and hygiene parameters, including food preparation and storage, kitchen sanitation, cleanliness of utensils and equipment, hand hygiene of food handlers, pest-control measures, waste segregation, ventilation, first-aid facilities and the overall health of kitchen staff.

Food handlers will be required to wear clean uniforms and head coverings, maintain proper hand hygiene, avoid jewellery while preparing food and stay away from food preparation if suffering from fever, diarrhoea or skin infections. Establishments must also maintain written standard operating procedures for food preparation, cleaning and waste disposal.

“Earlier, inspections were largely uniform and could often be completed within a few minutes. Now, inspections will follow a standardised checklist and can take close to an hour depending on the category of the establishment. The emphasis is on assessing actual public health risks rather than merely checking documents,” the official said.

The MCD has also introduced a risk-based inspection system under which food establishments will be classified as high, medium or low risk based on seating capacity, nature of operations, compliance history, complaints received and previous enforcement action.

Large banquet halls, food courts and establishments with a history of serious violations will face more frequent inspections, while low-risk establishments such as small eateries and takeaway outlets with a clean compliance record will largely be inspected annually or in response to complaints.

“A small takeaway outlet and a banquet hall serving hundreds of people every day cannot be regulated in the same manner. The inspection schedule will now be linked to the risk profile instead of following a one-size-fits-all approach,” the official said, adding that surprise inspections could still be carried out wherever there was credible information or an imminent public health concern.

The guidelines classify food businesses into seven categories, including restaurants and banquet halls, cloud kitchens, takeaway outlets, dhabas, catering units, food courts and terrace dining facilities, with separate operational requirements for each.

Meanwhile, members of restaurant associations said that establishments under the organised sector already follow stringent hygiene standards but welcomed efforts to create a more uniform inspection framework. 

“In the organised sector, hygiene and public health are taken extremely seriously, and nobody compromises on that. At the moment, everything is in a transition phase after the de-linking of the Health Trade Licence and the move towards certification through FSSAI,” said Sandeep Anand Goyle, Delhi chapter head of the National Restaurant Association of India.