The Government Wants to 'Name and Shame' Restaurants That Serve Large Desserts

Be as "sophisticated" as you want with your choice of main (sure, you really wanted the goats curd with gooseberry reduction over a steak and kidney pie) and faff around with the wine list like your life depends on that perfect white zinfandel, but you're not fooling anyone. We all know that the part of dinner you're really here for is the bit that comes at the end, preferably covered in cream and with several layers of chocolate.

Pudding. Afters. The Sweet. A Long-Awaited Excuse to Eat My Bodyweight in Custard. Whatever you call it, dessert is great. Deep down, we're all just kids hoovering up our greens so that we can be allowed to move on to the ice cream.

But the days of finishing a good meal out by face-planting sticky toffee pudding could be numbered. As The Times reports, in a bid to tackle the nation's obesity problem, the UK Government is planning to "name and shame" restaurants, cafes, and pubs who don't make their dessert portions smaller or reduce sugar levels.

According to the newspaper, health secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday told a private meeting of more than 100 food companies that "going out to eat is no longer a treat" because so many of us do it so often. For this reason, all establishments that serve food will be expected to take obesity-fighting measures similar to those currently being carried out by supermarkets and food manufacturers, who have introduced "traffic light" labelling and begun adhering to sugar reduction targets respectively.

The Times said that nationwide restaurant chains including Pizza Express, McDonald's, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and Starbucks would all be expected to cut sugar levels in dishes. Items like cakes, biscuits, ice cream, and croissants would have to become "less sweet or smaller."

Hunt warned that the Government would "shine a light" on restaurants' performances but did not detail exactly how individual companies' dessert data would be compared. It is expected to take the form of a website that would be accessible for consumers.

He told the meeting: "We can't ignore the changing habits of consumers. This means we expect the whole of the out-of-home sector—coffee shops, pubs, and family restaurants, quick service restaurants, takeaways, cafes, contract caterers, and mass catering suppliers—to step up and deliver on sugar reduction."

Taking the hardline on desserts comes as Government health officials attempt to put into place some of the measures outlined in the childhood obesity strategy, which was released in August after months of delays and has been heavily criticised for not taking a tough enough stance on sugar reduction.

Also speaking at the meeting, Duncan Selbie of Public Health England said: "We need a level playing field—if the food and drink bought in cafes, coffee shops, and restaurants does not also get reformulated and portions rethought, then it will remain often significantly higher in sugar and bigger in portion than those being sold in supermarkets and convenience shops."

Better hit the Pizza Hut ice cream factory before it's too late.