Compass Group backs menu labelling scheme

Compass Group has thrown its weight behind the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) scheme to introduce calorie labelling on menus.

Although the British Hospitality Association warned that the move has come at the wrong time for hard pressed businesses, the catering giant said it was fully supportive as menu labelling provided consumers with more choice and was not complicated for it to implement.

Ian El-Mokadem, managing director of Compass UK & Ireland, said: "Health, good nutrition and encouraging a balanced approach to eating are at the heart of our business and we are committed to improving our consumer's diet and health by making it easier for them to make healthy choices."

Since January, Compass has provided calorific values per meal at the point of sale for its core concept range, as well as additional information on sugar, fat, saturates and salt in a GDA/traffic light combination at more than 1,200 client sites.

Other than Compass, only Subway and Pizza Hut have so far publicly backed the FSA, which plans to run trials of the voluntary menu labelling with caterers and restaurants this summer.

Last year sushi chain Yo! Sushi introduced traffic light information in store to provide consumers with nutritional information about the dishes on offer.

Compass Group quit its membership of the BHA last year, claiming that the trade body does not effectively represent the contract catering sector.

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By Chris Druce

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