Calorie count plan ‘will cost restaurant sector over €100m a year’

Plans to force restaurants and takeaways to display calorie counts on menus from next year have been slammed as “impossible to police” and will cost the industry over €100m a year.

The proposals, which were approved this week at the Government’s Cabinet meeting, will require food outlets to post calorie information alongside the price for all items offered on menus, at the point where the food is ordered.

However, the CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, hit out at the proposals, claiming they were “virtually impossible to monitor” and would cost every restaurant €5,000 a year.