Home / Important Changes to Menu Labelling in the Food and Drink Sector
22nd March 2022
As part of the Government’s initiative to encourage the food and drink sector to offer lower calorie options for their customers, many restaurants, cafes and takeaway shops will be required to implement calorie labelling on their menus from 6 April 2022.
Whilst this currently applies to large businesses with 250 + employees only, smaller businesses are encouraged to voluntarily adopt calorie labelling as it may be a requirement in the future.
If you operate in the Out of Home Sector, and with more than 250 employees, you will need to change your menus in order that they display:
The change applies not only to restaurants, cafes, pubs and supermarkets but also to, amongst others, domestic transport (planes, ferries and trains), cinemas, franchises and online takeaway companies who prepare food or drink for immediate consumption.
Food or drink for immediate consumption means that it does not need preparing, for example cooking or reheating, by the consumer before consuming. The changes do not apply to prepacked or exempt food or drink, including fresh fruit or vegetables provided they are not added to other food. For example, loose fruit does not need to display calorie information, but a fruit salad does. Other exempt food or drink includes unprocessed products such as nuts, alcoholic drinks over 1.2% ABV and condiments.
The new rules are to be enforced by local authorities who have discretion in how they enforce them, including enforcement based upon the accuracy of the information and the methods of generating calorie information. If businesses do not comply with these changes, an authorised officer may serve an improvement notice on the proprietor, providing the opportunity to secure compliance. Failure to do so may result in a civil sanction of a fixed monetary penalty of £2,500.