Businesses with 250 or more employees in England, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways, must soon display calorie information of non-prepacked food and soft drink items that are prepared for customers.

From 6th April 2022, calorie information will need to be displayed at the point of choice for the customer, such as physical menus, online menus, food delivery platforms and food labels.

In time, it is expected that smaller businesses will also be required to adhere to this new regulation, however the date for this is to be confirmed. Smaller businesses are therefore being encouraged to introduce calorie labelling as soon as possible.

The types of businesses covered by the requirement include (but may not be limited to):

• restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes, pubs and supermarkets
• home delivery services and third-party apps selling food that is in scope
• cafes and takeaways within larger shops and venues, such as supermarkets, department stores, and entertainment venues such as cinemas
• specialist food stores, delicatessens, sweet shops and bakeries
• contract catering – for example, for events and canteens (see mass catering subsection below)
• domestic transport businesses including planes, trains, ferries and other forms of water transport within the UK

Exemptions:

• food that is provided by a charity or at a single event to raise funds for its charitable activities
• food provided to hospital patients or other medical establishment, or to residents of a care home or other social care institution
• food served by the armed forces to a member of the armed forces outside a military canteen
• food that is served on international transport (on an aircraft, a train or a ferry) to or from a country that is not part of the United Kingdom

If you’d like to know whether this new legislation applies to your business, or you’re looking for a solution to effectively manage your menus, products and calorie information, we can help…

ChefIQ is a complete menu management system providing an effective tool to smoothly manage the introduction of this new legislation within your business.

With only a matter of weeks to go, you’ll be pleased to hear that, while it’s packed full of advanced functionality, it's simple to use and fast to set up.

ChefIQ will ensure your menus, food labels and delivery platforms display the required information allowing your customers to make informed choices.

Get in touch to find out more or book a demo today.