FDF applauds calorie labelling on menus

7th April 2009, 3:24pm

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has applauded the voluntary efforts of the 18 leading caterers that are introducing calorie information on their menus for the first time.

The major catering companies include Compass Group UK & Ireland, ISS Mediclean, Sodexo and Unilever staff restaurants. Other groups taking part include Marks & Spencer cafes, Sainsbury's, Subway, Wimpy, and 7 Day Catering – in college restaurants.

These companies, along with the other five catering groups to present this information, will begin displaying calorie details from the end of this month.

By June, more than 450 food outlets across the country will have introduced calorie information, some on a pilot basis. Each company has agreed to display calorie information for most food and drink they serve, print calorie information on menu boards, paper menus or on the edge of shelves, and ensure the information is clear and easily visible at the point where people choose their food.

Julian Hunt, Food and Drink Federation (FDF) director of communications, explained: "80 food companies are voluntarily providing Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) information on the front of about 20,000 food and drink lines sold in supermarkets. We remain convinced that GDA labelling is helping to improve the food literacy of consumers, which is why this labelling system is now being used across Europe.

"As the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health acknowledge, calorie per portion information has been shown to be particularly useful for consumers. We would agree with Government that universal calorie labelling is a natural starting point in the debate about how we improve the food literacy of consumers.

"Calorie per portion information is a core element of the GDA labelling system, but is not recommended for use in the so-called traffic light scheme.

"Labelling is one of the ways in which our members are making a real difference for consumers – and it is only part of the solution. Since 2004, for instance, we estimate that our members have changed the recipes of popular brands, worth £15bn at retail, so that they are lower in salt, fat and sugar.

"In addition, a further £11.5bn worth of products have been launched as 'lower in' versions. And our members continue to make real progress with workplace wellbeing schemes that encourage the food industry's 440,000 employees to lead healthier lives."

Dawn Primarolo, Minister for Public Health said: "We know that people want to be able to see how many calories are in the food and drink they order when they eat out.

"I want to see more catering companies join this ground breaking first group to help their customers make healthier choices."

Children's Minister Delyth Morgan continued: "We are all too aware of the health risks associated with adult obesity, which it why it is vital we act to prevent children, the adults of tomorrow, becoming obese. We must continue to help children lead healthy, active lifestyles and develop good eating habits which they can take into their adult lives.

"This is a complex challenge but we've made a great start with a revolution in the quality of school meals and the success of the PE and sport strategy, which means more children are playing sports at school than ever before.

"The report today outlines how we plan to go further. We are giving parents personal advice on how to prevent their children becoming obese through the Change4Life campaign, extending the mandatory nutritional standards to secondary and special schools this September and introducing an enhanced Healthy Schools programme to help schools do more to promote healthy habits.

"The new and refurbished play areas that are opening around the country will increase children's opportunities to be active outside home and school." 

Related Articles:

• 25 Sep 2009 - ISS Mediclean switches to PG tips tea
• 06 Apr 2009 - Catering companies to display calories on menus
• 27 Jan 2009 - Compass supports FSA's calorie labelling initiative
• 15 Jan 2009 - Restaurants and caterers to trial menu labelling

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