Chocolate bar ‘energy ratings’ a sweet idea

THE makers of Ireland’s most popular chocolate bars are to put ‘energy ratings’ on the front of their wrappers to help buyers eat more healthily.

Mars, Snickers and Twix will display the calorie content per bar and a percentage to show how much energy each product provides of an average person’s daily needs.

However, daily requirement percentages will only be given for an adult male, and not for women or children.

For instance, the Mars bar’s new wrapper will show the 62.5g treat has 284 calories, which accounts for 11.4% of a man’s daily calorie requirements.

Similarly, a Snickers wrapper will show the peanut chocolate bar contains 313 calories, or 12.5% of a man’s energy needs. The same product gives 15.7% to women and 22.4% to small children.

Yesterday, nutrition experts welcomed the move, but said the Government needed to act on food labelling so consumers had more information.

“There are various companies looking at different food labelling methods but not one [scheme] has been accepted as the uniform one for the food industry.

“This initiative is to be welcomed, but there do not appear to be any [Government] guidelines coming out at the moment,” said Margot Brennan of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI).

Ms Brennan said consumers remained confused over how much they could eat and what kinds of foods they should be consuming.

She said chocolate was classed as a treat and should only be enjoyed occasionally as its calorie content was a lot higher than other foods.

“Chocolate bars are snacks and are not something that can be consumed on a daily basis if you are to meet the requirement for all other nutrients, like iron and calcium,” she said.

Confectionery giant Masterfoods is bringing in the new labels in response to growing concern among consumer groups over healthy eating.

Consumer groups say labels are hard to understand and give buyers too little information.

The European Union is also looking at labelling reform to stop food manufacturers from making claims on low salt, sugar or fat unless the product is healthy overall.

Masterfoods is also planning to change the labels on other treats like M&Ms, Galaxy, Skittles, Maltesers and Starburst as well as brands like Dolmio sauces and Uncle Ben’s rice.

Masterfoods chief executive Pierre Laubies said the company would continue to display traditional nutrition information per 100g on packs, where space allowed.

“We believe our new approach will communicate complex messages in a user-friendly way,” he said.