Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 July 2012
525 Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Health if he will act upon the recent report by the Food Safety Authority which has called for calorie counts to be displayed on menus in food service outlets such as restaurants, bars and cafés; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33609/12]
View answerIn October 2011, the Minister for Health wrote to Fast Food chains operating in Ireland to request that they introduce calorie posting in their restaurants and received a very positive response. It is in this context that the Department of Health commissioned the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) to conduct a public consultation on the introduction of calorie posting on fast food outlet and restaurant menus. The Minister launched the FSAI's public consultation process in February 2012, with a view to gathering information which would inform the next steps in the process. The final outcome of that consultation process was launched by the Minister on 4th July 2012.
The Calorie Posting initiative is only one among several that are being progressed by the Special Action Group on Obesity which the Minister set up in 2011. This group comprises key stakeholders, and is chaired by the Department of Health. The group includes representatives from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Department of Education and Skills, the Health Service Executive, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Safe food and its remit is to examine and progress a number of issues to address the complex and multi-factorial problem of obesity.
The Special Action Group on Obesity is concentrating on a specific range of measures to combat the growing obesity problem, one of which is the Calorie Posting initiative. The Group will work with other Government Departments in a cross-sectoral approach to help halt the rise in overweight and obesity. It is recognised that alone no single initiative will reverse the trend, but a combination of measures should make a difference. It is essential to recognise that a small but sustained positive change in the eating behaviour of a large number of individuals can have a major effect on the obesity crisis.
The Minister has indicated that he is very much in favour that the programme of putting calories on menus in Ireland be introduced on a voluntary basis at first, because it is clear from the consultation results that the food industry will need significant technical support in order to implement it. To this end, the Special Action Group on Obesity is actively working on the development of an action plan to facilitate the implementation. There are a number of issues which SAGO now needs to address, for example, technical support for providing calorie content information for small restaurant/coffee shop owners; priority based implementation; how the scheme might work in restaurants whose menus change frequently etc. It is envisaged that calorie posting commence in the coming months when these considerations are finalised and the necessary implementation mechanism has been devised.
