Do you weigh your popcorn before a film?

Turns out, a number of multiplexes and food chains may have been fudging up the amounts of various snacks and food items they dole out against payment taken. And now, the legal metrology dept has sent out notices to the likes of Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Cinepolis, E-Square and more

Ever wondered if the size of your popcorn tub looked debatable, or your ‘medium’ cold drink seemed rather small? A number of such discrepancies have now come to the fore in the city, be it for snacks like fries, pizza, beverages, and lots more.

After investigating at least double the number of locations, 10 brand venues have been issued showcause notices by the state legal metrology department (LMD), including some wellknown multiplexes and food chains, for breaching various weight and measurement rules under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009.

The pulled-up establishments — names like McDonald’s on Karve Road, Domino’s Pizza’s Deccan branch, Carnival Films Pvt Ltd at Wakad and Bhosari, Cinepolis India Pvt Ltd inside Seasons Mall in Hadapsar, ESquare Leisure Pvt Ltd in Pimpri, Smera Enterprises on Shankarsheth Road and others — came under the LMD’s scanner while its officials were conducting a special drive to seek out violations of metrology (the science of measurement) norms.

The process to file cases is underway, and the establishments have been given time to accept the violations and pay the penalty. Officials informed that the drive to check if customers are being fleeced started on September 16. Most establishments were found not using standard measures to sell and serve some food and drink items.

According to officials, this amounted to cheating customers, as they were unaware of the exact quantity they were getting despite purchasing the items for a specified sum.

NP Udmate, district controller at LMD, informed, “At McDonald’s, we found cold drinks and fries being sold in the regular, medium and large sizes, which was not in accordance with the law that governs weight and measures in this sector. Similarly, Domino’s Pizza was found selling pizzas in small, medium, large sizes. These were both clear violations of section 11 the Metrology Act.”

Carnival Films at Wakad was also found vending popcorn is small, medium, large sizes, but with no weight details of the contents; the same brand at Bhosari sold wafers without similar declarations, said Udmate, adding, “ESquare Leisure in Pimpri was also selling popcorn in a quantity that is not standard. Due to this, we have issued notices to all of them.”

The official further informed, “Cinepolis India inside Seasons Mall, Hadapsar, was found using weight measures not stamped by the LMD. We have seized the weight measure as they were not periodically verified, and showcaused them. A customer should know if the amount they are paying for any commodity is proper. When places don’t follow these rules, eventually, the public is cheated. The establishments we have rapped will get time to pay the penalty and accept the violations. At present, the process of compounding for these cases is going on. We are happy to see that many of the places we examined have started following norms as well.”

Udmate also cautioned the public to remain vigilant about any such inconsistencies and approach the LMD via their numbers found online.

When Mirror approached the establishments in question, Carnival Films refused to respond, while Cinepolis India and Domino’s Pizza remained unavailable for comment. An official statement by HardCastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd that runs McDonald’s in India said, “There is no legal binding for restaurants to declare the weight or volume of food items sold. McDonald’s India is fully compliant with all applicable laws and follows the highest standards of food safety and hygiene.”

Source:- https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/entertainment/do-you-weigh-your-popcorn-before-a-film/71310756