Firms given six months for calorific content list

FOOD BUSINESSES have been warned they have six months to list the calorie content of food they serve or laws will be introduced requiring them to do so, Minister for Health James Reilly has warned.

“Voluntary for now, but if people don’t come to the party I will legislate,” Dr Reilly told the food sector yesterday. The Minister backed a report calling for the introduction of calorie menu labelling.

The report by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) recommends that the scheme be introduced on a voluntary basis at first to allow for the development of technical tools to help the sector adjust to the change.

The authority says calorie labelling will assist consumers in making healthy food choices, and thereby help reduce the level of obesity. Ireland has the second highest level of obesity in Europe, with rates doubling among women and trebling among men in the past 20 years.

Consumers overwhelmingly support the introduction of calorie menus in food outlets, according to the report.

It shows that 96 per cent of people support calorie labelling in some or all food outlets, while 89 per cent say the information should be displayed beside the food and drink items on the menu. Some 84 per cent of consumers say labelling should apply to alcoholic drinks.

Support for the initiative was significantly lower among food businesses. Many companies have raised concerns over their lack of expertise in calculating calories, the potential cost, and time involved in drawing up calorie menus.

The authority says it recognises that food businesses will have to be given technical support in order to overcome these barriers. Whether this will be available to all who want it in time for the Minister’s deadline is less clear.

Dr Reilly said he could not understand why some fast food chains had so far failed to introduce calorie menus when their rivals had done so.

Calorie labelling was a simple concept that would help people to make healthier choices, eat smaller portions and enjoy food without overeating, he said.

“It is essential to recognise that a small but sustained positive change in the eating behaviour of a large number of individuals can have a major effect on our obesity crisis. And I strongly believe that calorie menu labelling offers this potential.”

Dr Mary Flynn, nutrition specialist with the FSAI, said calorie menu labelling was a huge step forward for obesity prevention. But she acknowledged that many restaurants were worried about the proposal, particularly when so many were “hanging on by their fingertips”.

She also accepted there was less demand from consumers for calorie information in “fine dining” restaurants, which people tended to visit infrequently, often for a celebration.

More than 3,300 submissions were made to the authority in a consultation on the issue, the vast majority of them from consumers. This was six times the size of any previous consultation.