Calories To Be Shown On Menus At Restaurants In England

Mandatory calorie counts for restaurant and takeaway businesses in England have come into force as of yesterday.

Establishments employing more than 250 staff must display calorie counts “clearly and prominently” at the point of choice.

This includes physical and online menus and on food delivery platforms like Uber Eats and Deliveroo. 

Introduced by the goverment to help reduce the estimated £1.6bn spent by the NHS on fighting obesity each year, the law has been criticised for failing to focus on other important metrics.

Some restaurants are worried that it will force them to increase their costs, and eating disorder charities are concerned that it could lead to harmful behaviour with no distinction between good and bad calories or fibre and nutrient content.