Over 170 companies and organisations have signed up to the Government’s “Responsibility Deal”, including leading operators from the pub and restaurant sectors.
The voluntary responsibility deal aims to promote calorie labelling on menus, provide alcohol unit information on drinks, and reduce salt and remove trans fats from food items.
Pub and restaurant operators, including Enterprise Inns, Greene King, Harvester, JD Wetherspoon, Mitchell & Butlers, Punch, Whitbread, Pizza Express, The Real Greek, and YO! Sushi, have signed up to the voluntary agreement.
Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, Costa and Pret A Manger have also pledged their support.
McDonald’s has announced it will introduce calorie information on its menu boards as part of the agreement. As of this September, all 1,200 of McDonald’s UK restaurants will display the calorie content of all menu items displayed on menu boards.
Diageo, Carlsberg, Heineken, and Molson Coors are also supporting the “deal”, with Coors pledging to include alcohol unit information on glassware and roll out two-third pint measures across all its brands.
Leading supermarket chains Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose have all signed up to the voluntary scheme, as have The Co-operative Group and Marks & Spencer.
The pledges were drawn up by five working parties, concentrating on food, alcohol, behavioural change, physical activity and health at work.
“The deals published today demonstrate the effectiveness of our radical partnership approach to deliver more and sooner,” said health secretary Andrew Lansley.
“It is only the first step. While I’m pleased with the progress we have achieved in seven months and that over 170 organisations have already signed up as partners, we want more organisations to sign up and work with us to develop further collective and individual pledges.”
