Liz Truss might scrap calorie counts on menus

In a bid to cut red tape for businesses, Liz Truss is considering scrapping the rule that requires restaurants, cafes, and takeaways with a staff of more than 250 to display calories on their menus. The rule was brought in by Boris Johnson in April this year.

The Treasury is also reviewing a host of other anti-obesity measures designed to encourage people to make healthier choices. These include the ban on displaying sugary snacks at supermarket checkouts, and multi-buy deals on junk food. 

‘What people want the government to be doing is delivering good roads, good rail services, making sure there’s broadband, making sure there’s mobile phone coverage, cutting the NHS waiting lists, helping people get a GP appointment. They don’t want the government telling them what to eat’, Truss said previously. 

But the review has sparked widespread alarm amongst anti obesity campaigners. ‘We are deeply concerned’ said Katherine Jenner, director of The Obesity Health Alliance. ‘These policies are popular with the public, who want it to be easier to make healthier choices’, she told The Guardian.