2 results
Libro Healthy Towns - assessing availability of food information for a pilot public health initiative
- David Kenny, Clodagh Manning, Breige McNulty, Damian O'Kelly, Frances Douglas
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E701
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- Article
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In Ireland SI 489/2014 mandates food businesses (FB) to present written allergen information on food and drink at the point of presentation or sale. Despite this requirement being in place since 2014, compliance is low. A 2017 audit published by the Food Safety Authority Ireland reported that corrective action was required by 88% of FB assessed.
Calorie labeling, although not legally required, has strong consumer demand. Furthermore when FB implement calorie labeling, improvements to stock management resulted in reduced costs.
This study aims to establish a baseline of available information to evaluate the progress of the public health initiative “Libro Healthy Towns”: a pilot project aimed at supporting FB to provide food information to consumers.
A catchment area was established to identify FB for inclusion. FB were categorised by business type: Multi-site (MB) or Independent site (IB), and service type: Restaurant/Café (RC), Restaurant/Takeaway (RT), Hotel, Pub/Restaurant and Takeaway. Availability of allergen and calorie information were collected by observing and photographing food information on display. Where information was not observable, it was requested. Employees were asked if consumers requested calorie information. Responses were recorded for input into a spreadsheet. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS (ver. 24). Results were assessed using Chi-Square and Likelihood Ratio.
In total 54 FB were assessed (31 = MB, 23 = IB), 63% had allergen information displayed and 31% had it available on request. There was no statistically significant difference between business type and allergen information being available on display or by request. Three businesses (6%) had no allergen information available; 100% of these were IB. MB were significantly more likely to have allergen information available (100%) compared with IB (87%) (p-value = .021). Calorie information was available for 24% (n = 13) of FB, of which significantly more (92%) were MB (p-value = .003). Calorie information was requested in 56% of FB, most frequently requested in RC and RT, 62% and 55% respectively. Significantly more MB reported that consumers requested calorie information compared with IB, 77% and 26% respectively (p-value = < .001).
Only half of businesses displayed allergen information in writing at the point of presentation or sale. Consumer interest in calorie information was strong, supporting previous research showing consumers want to make informed food choices. Access to food information was easier in MB however this study shows that measures to improve the availability of food information are necessary across all business types.
Libro Healthy Towns' - A food business protocol for nutrition and allergen declaration
- Clodagh Manning, David Kenny, Breige McNulty, Damian O' Kelly, Frances Douglas
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E702
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
-
‘Libro Healthy Towns’ is a joint public health initiative developed under the Healthy Ireland Charter. The initiative ultimately aims to improve the food environment and support informed food choices through technology. Food businesses are required by EU regulation 1169/2011 on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers, to provide allergen information on foods served. Calorie labelling, while not required, has been established as a strong public desire. This study aims to establish a protocol for implementation of allergen and nutrition declaration in food outlets. A catchment area was used to identify food businesses that were categorised by service sector and organisational type. Two businesses from each service sector were contacted to establish their willingness to participate in the study. A template was developed to collect the food information necessary for nutrition and allergen declaration including: menu items, component recipes and sub-recipes, recipe ingredients and quantities, cooking methods, servings per recipe and recipe weight following cooking. Facilitated weighing was used to establish ingredient weights. Ingredient specific food information: food name, brand, ingredient list, supplier and food form, were observed from packaging. Foods suitable for analysis using generic composition data were identified. Feedback from food businesses was recorded during recruitment and observationally, during onboarding. Of the 54 food outlets included within the catchment area: 57% were classified as ‘restaurant/takeaway’, 28% ‘restaurant/cafe’, 7% ‘pub/restaurant’, 7% ‘takeaway’ and 4% ‘hotel’. 57% of businesses were ‘multisite’, 43% ‘independent’. Of the 10 businesses contacted, 2 businesses volunteered to take part. (Site A & B; a restaurant/cafe and restaurant/takeaway, respectively). In total, 72 ingredients were used for recipe analysis in site A, most (n = 41) were branded. In total, 75 ingredients were used for recipe analysis in site B, most (n = 73) were generic. Reasons for not participating included: fear that declaring nutrition information would negatively impact sales 12.5%, concern regarding digital security of proprietary recipes 12.5%, limited technological skills 12.5%, no reason 25% and unavailability of a decision maker 37.5%. Furthermore, difficulty measuring ingredients, reluctance to waste food and lack of knowledge of brands purchased were identified as barriers to recipe information collection. This study establishes parameters for implementing nutrition and allergen declaration in food outlets. It highlights challenges to providing and collecting food information. Ensuring that provisions are made to address these will be vital to the success of the ‘Libro Healthy Towns’ public health initiative.