Saffron Nutrition programme adapts for restaurant trade

The Food Standards Agency published results in June showing that 81% of consumers wanted more nutritional information at the point of ordering on meals they are being served in restaurants, pubs and cafes. Following this, the Food Commission urged the UK government to make fast food chains display nutrition information on menu boards next to the name and price of the item. The Saffron Nutrition, which nutritionally analyses recipe ingredient and food product data against McCance and Widdowson database of nutrient values, is already being operated by more than 100 local authorities to help meet the nutrient standards on school meals. The system is available on a license per site basis with users able to operate their own nutritional analysis and recipe bank through a password-controlled website. The system will work along similar lines to the Food Standard Agency's recommended traffic light approach to flagging up food nutrition, whereby a red light indicates a dish that is high in a particular nutrient such as fat, amber denotes a dish that is fine to eat most of the time, while a green light indicates a dish that is low in a particular nutrient. In addition, the programme, which is scheduled to be delivered by the first quarter of next year, will have the capability of benchmarking the results against multiple standards shown as traffic lights. A default standard will also be set that would flag up how, for instance three or four key elements such as fat, carbohydrate and calorie levels compare with the FSA guidelines. Other guidelines could also be introduced where appropriate, such as a diabetic standard that would focus on the sugar levels in desserts. Charles Mobbs, managing director of FDH, said: "There is a clear push by the government towards making the restaurant sector more nutritionally accountable for the food it serves. This, coupled with a rise in consumer demand suggests that a move towards greater visibility of nutritional information will happen at some point, not so much to reduce consumer choice, but to inform those who want to know about what they are eating." He continued: "The technology is already proven in relation to the nutrient standards on school meals, and the latest developments will ensure that the reports can be structured according to what and how individual restaurants want to display."