Healthy Eating: Should Calorie Counts Be Displayed on Menus?

When it comes to fast food, do you like to know how many calories you’re eating or would you prefer to chomp happily on your burger without knowing the ugly truth? (Namely that it is made up of like, nine billion calories).

RTE reports today that soon, calories on menus could become a common occurrence in our dining experience.

Following a consultation earlier this year, the Food Safety Authority (FSA) has just published a report which calls for calorie counts to be displayed on menus in restaurants, bars and cafes across the nation.

In fact, over 3,300 submissions were received by the FSA when they first began the consultation and, according to reports, 80 per cent of the submissions and opinions were put forward by consumers.

The report, which was published this morning, recommends that a calorie labelling scheme should be initiated in Ireland. For the time being, this scheme will be on a voluntary basis – although if it proves to be successful, it could be enforced in the coming years.

The point of all this? Well the FSA believes that by showing consumers the nutritional information of each item on a menu, they will be able to make more informed choices. Sounds fair, right?

The FSA made its recommendation after the public consultation revealed that 96 per cent of consumers wanted the calorie labelling and believed that it was a good idea. A further 84 per cent of consumers also requested that calorie labelling be put on alcoholic beverages too.

“We are going to continue to encourage people on a voluntary basis to join this initiative and we’re going to review it at the end of the year and if I’m not satisfied that people are playing ball, particularly big chains, I’ll legislate,” said Dr James Reilly, the Minister for Health.

Dr Mary Flynn, who is the Chief Specialist in Public Health Nutrition at the FSA said that putting calories on menus will be a massive step forward for preventing the spread of obesity in Ireland.

So ladies, what do you think? Do you want to know just how many calories are in that pizza or when it comes to takeaway food, is ignorance bliss?