Fast food chain McDonalds will include calorie information on its menus from this Wednesday, as part of the Department of Health’s Public Health Responsibility Deal (PHRD).

The PHRD is a voluntary agreement between government and several private and civil society organisations to tackle four key areas of public health.

McDonalds’ pledge is part of the agreement to tackle obesity. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said that since one in six meals are now eaten outside the home, publishing this information will help people "spot those hidden calories in their favourite foods and keep an eye on their waistlines."

Other companies already committed to display calorie labelling include KFC, Pizza Hut, Pret a Manger and JD Wetherspoon.

In the United States, chain restaurants with more than 20 locations are required to include calorie counts on their menus. Evidence from New York suggests that this has caused people to order less calorie-rich foods in some restaurants.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd told the Daily Mail: “There’s no excuse for the companies already displaying calories in the US not to do the same here.

“If calorie-labelling cannot be achieved on a voluntary basis, we want the government to make it a legal requirement.”

But today’s announcement has been greeted with scepticism by Guardian journalist Mark King who says that research carried out by McDonalds’ suggests that displaying calorie counts makes little difference to consumer behaviour.

In July, a House of Lords committee criticised the PHRD, saying it was not strong enough to bring about real change.

public health, obesity, public health responsibility deal

Last updated 263 days ago by Civil Service World