Restaurant

Calorie Information Could Cost Restaurants €10K a Year

By Publications Checkout
Calorie Information Could Cost Restaurants €10K a Year

A Dublin restaurant has claimed that putting calorie information on its menus costs €10,000 a year, and has spoken out against the legislation to make the information mandatory.

Bay restaurant in Clontarf, Dublin puts the calorie information on all its menus, changing the menus to reflect changes in dishes or ingredients.

This practice, claims manager Louise Eglington, has worked out well for the restaurant, however the plans to implement legislation whereby all food outlets would be required to put calorie counts on menus may be too much for smaller businesses, says Eglington.

Speaking to the Evening Herald, the manager claimed that not only is it a considerable expense, it is also very time-consuming work.

"Then there is also the amount of work that goes into it. We work together with our chefs to make it possible, with chef specials and lunch specials having to be changed on a weekly basis."

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Chefs and representative bodies have previously spoken out against the proposals; the RAI's chief Adrian Cummins calling it a "nanny state" move by the minister.

Chef Derry Clarke also slammed the plans, urging the government to instead focus on a healthy lifestyle. "If you want people to lose weight then tax sofas, tax TVs and laptops. It's not all about calories, it's about moving," said Clarke.