JD Wetherspoon, Whitbread and Subway have all said they have removed some food items from their menus as part of calorie reduction pledges under the Responsibility Deal with the Government.
In addition, five eating-out chains - McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut (dine-in) and Mitchells & Butlers-owned Harvester - have told the Government that they have provided calorie counts for 100% of their non-temporary food and drink lines.
The information is provided in updates on the Responsibility Deal Food Network, the series of voluntary agreements between the Department of Health and businesses.
Among the pledges are commitments to reduce calories and introduce calorie labelling. To comply with the former pledge, JD Wetherspoon listed Beef & Abbot Ale Pie as one high-calorie item it has removed. The company said it has reformulated and reduced calories in 12 dishes in the past 12 months; for example, the chicken breast wrap went from 358 to 339 calories.
Wetherspoons said it’s developing more meals in the “under 500 calorie” bracket and it will label dishes on the menu that contain less than 5% fat.
Whitbread said the average three-course meal ordered in a Beefeater restaurant in Spring 2013 had 105 fewer calories than that ordered one year earlier. This is because of the removal of a number of high-calorie accompaniments such as iceberg wedge in blue cheese dressing, and the addition of a number of lower calorie dishes, the company said.
Whitbread said starters range from 242 calories, mains from 339 and desserts from 360. According to the leisure operator, a customer can eat a three-course meal that’s less than 50% of the recommended daily allowance for women.
In addition, some items, such as potato skins, have moved from frying to baking where possible, and trials of a new oil have reduced the calorie content of chips by c20%. Whitbread said it plans to introduce a healthier range of products in 2013/2014.
Subway said a range of nine low-fat flatbreads have replaced the Subway wrap, which it says has fewer calories, less salt and is lower in fat and carbohydrates. It also has more fibre but “without compromising on taste”. In addition, Capri Sun Fruit Crush has been introduced to the Kids Pak as a lower calorie replacement for the cookie and other soft drinks.
A number of companies reported that calorie labelling was provided for almost all their permanent lines. For Pret A Manger the figure is 98%, for Eat it’s 81%, and for Greggs it’s 73%.
Starbucks said: “All freshfood and menu board items have calorie information provided . This represents approximately 90% of our products.”
Meanwhile, Domino’s Pizza Group highlighted the difficulties in complying with the pledge when menus can be customised.
The company said: “As pledged in 2012, we have now added calorie counts for a large, regular crust pizza slice only onto the ordering website, alongside the price. The count can be found under the product description.
“With over 100m combinations of base, sauce, cheese and topping on the menu, we cannot provide counts for all pizzas but instead provide counts for the core pizzas and best sellers which act as a guide for consumers.
“We continue to look at ways in which to provide our customers with calorie counts and our nutrition website, www.takeafreshlook.co.uk, is frequently updated to show the most current information about our products.”
Domino’s said it plans to assess its approach and put in place any necessary steps to improve it in 2013/2014.
