Restaurants Told to Cut Down on Puddings

Eating out is a treat in itself, but it tends to get even better when the dessert menu gets passed around. Many of us use the fact that we’re having a meal out as an excuse to be even more indulgent and so are quite happy to order that big slice of chocolate fudge cake or delicious pot of creme brulee.

However, these tasty little treats are clearly not so healthy, usually containing a lot of fat and sugar. This is why restaurants, cafes and pubs have been ordered to reduce the size of their pudding portions in a bid to make their menu healthier.

Jeremy Hunt has said that restaurants need to take a look at portion size for sugar-laden food, as well as make all their food and drink healthier in a bid to help curb the UK’s obesity crisis.

According to The Times, Mr Hunt – who is the UK’s health secretary – told 100 food companies in a private meeting that not doing anything to address how healthy their menus and how big their portions are “was not an option”.

Even the big names in the food game aren’t exempt from the changes, with well-known eateries like Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Starbucks, McDonalds and Pizza Express all being ordered to address the health of their menus.

Mr Hunt said that people in Britain are eating around a fifth of their sugar intake outside of the home, which has huge health implications. He also told the meeting that around a quarter of families with kids regularly take them to fast food restaurants, which can be bad when it comes to reinforcing ideas about healthy eating.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Eateries that fail to address their menus and make them healthier will reportedly be ‘named and shamed’, with people being able to check up on each company’s efforts on a website. This should help everyone make healthier decisions when it comes to eating out – or potentially provide a handy list of where to find the most indulgent desserts.