UK restaurants told to cut portion sizes

The UK government could resort to naming and shaming restaurants that fail to reduce their portion sizes or sugar content as part of a bid to tackle the growing obesity crisis, it has been claimed.

It could be the beggining of the end for extravagant desserts

According to The Times,  health secretary Jeremy Hunt has told food companies that as eating out “is no longer a treat” they needed to be part of reforms to reduce obesity in the UK.

It means that restaurants, cafés and pubs could be named and shamed unless they cut portion sizes and reduce their sugar content. In particular, chains such as Pizza Express, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Gourmet Burger Kitchen have been told to set an example by cutting sugar from food and reducing the size of desserts, cakes and croissants.

The warning was made during a private meeting between Hunt and a number of representatives of UK food companies, according to The Times.

He said: “Going out to eat is no longer a treat. It’s a regular habit for many families and is contributing significantly to the extra calories and sugar that we all consume on a daily basis.

“We can’t ignore the changing habits of consumers. This means we expect the whole of the out-of-home sector – coffee shops, pubs and family restaurants, quick service restaurants, takeaways, cafes, contract caterers and mass catering suppliers – to step up and deliver on sugar reduction.”

Hunt is reported to have suggested that the government would begin reporting on the efforts of big chain restaurants, takeaways and fast food retailers to cut sugar and reduce the size of desserts, cakes and pastries online, effectively naming and shaming those that fail to make their food more healthy.

Earlier this year the humble gin and tonic fell foul of a similar bid to cut obesity levels, after George Osborne announced a sugar tax on soft drinks.

From 2018, a new tax will be levied on soft drinks that contain more than 5g sugar per 100ml, with a second tier tax for those that contain more than 8g per 100ml. Pure fruit juice and milk-based drinks are excluded, along with diet versions which contain sweeteners rather than sugar.

While intended to tackle childhood obesity, the tax will also affect adult beverages, specifically the gin and tonic. Typically, tonic water contains 9g of sugar per 100g, which means that the cost of a gin and tonic could increase.

Fever Tree’s  Indian Tonic water contains 8g of sugar per 100ml, placing it in the higher tax category, while its Mediterranean tonic water contains 7.4g per 100ml. Ginger beer, used to make a Dark and Stormy cocktail, will also be affected. Old Jamaica Ginger Beer contains a whopping 15.2g of sugar per 100ml.

Drinks in the higher category, containing over 8g of sugar per 100ml, will be subject to a 24p per litre levy.

The tax will be imposed on drinks companies in two years’ time (2018), giving producers the opportunity to change their ingredients and reduce their sugar content to avoid the tax.