Menu labelling begins at popular restaurants
The FSA has today confirmed it is in talks with ‘several big players’ who will this summer be the first UK restaurants to introduce calorie labelling on their menus.
In collaboration with the government’s Healthy Food Code of Good Practice, which encourages the food industry to make the public more aware of healthy food choices, the step will see some of the biggest restaurant chains in the country include calorie information next to each dish on their menu.
FSA chief executive Tim Smith said both consumers and the government see the move to reduce the nation’s expanding waistline as ‘the first and simplest step, (which) can only be a good thing’.
“We’re used to seeing nutrition information when we’re shopping and there is no compelling reason why we shouldn’t have more consistent information about nutrition when we eat out. The Agency is keen to work closely with industry to see, as a first step, how calorie information can be provided in a clear, effective and simple manner across a range of catering settings.”
While in November the FSA announced it would work with six high street fast food chains, including McDonald’s, Nando’s, Burger King, KFC and Subway to help them make healthy changes to their menus, they are yet to announce who the first adopters of the calorie labelling scheme will be.
