Councils call for menu calorie count

LGA plan mirrors New York restaurant law

Local councils are calling for pubs to provide a "guide" on how healthy the food they serve is.

They also want the law changed so calorie content must be listed on bottles and cans of alcoholic drinks.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 400 councils, also wants "better promotion of healthy options when people eat out" in its plan to tackle obesity.

LGA public health spokesman David Rogers said: "When people eat out, it's right that they should be able to get a rough idea of how much fat is in their curry or sugar in their ice cream."

The plan mirrors recent legislative changes in New York, where restaurant chains with at least 15 outlets nationwide must display calorie counts.

Rogers said the plan "shouldn't become another burden on small businesses — so the proposals would need to be flexible and support from Government forthcoming".

But Jack Baker, head chef of the Cricket Inn, at Totley, Sheffield, said: "It will be a nightmare. It will be a whole new job for someone.

"We have 12 to 15 specials that change from day to day — it would take a whole morning just to calculate the nutritional information.

"It would be good for the public, however, and we do offer healthy options on the menu. But kitchens would have to change a lot."

On the LGA's call for calorie counts on drinks, British Beer and Pub Association director of communications Mark Hastings said consumers don't like being bombarded with too much information on labels.