UAE to roll out rules for mandatory calorie labels on food served in eateries

The system will help people make informed and healthy dietary choices.

AP file

The UAE will soon introduce mandatory measures for restaurants and other food outlets to display calorie content of the food served to customers so they can make informed and healthy dietary choices, authorities have announced.

Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology on Wednesday told the Federal National Council (FNC) that his ministry is currently working with the Ministry of Health and Prevention and other food regulatory authorities in the UAE to roll out a project to set guidelines specifying the amount of calories and all ingredients in the meals served by restaurants and other food outlets in the country.

Al Jaber was responding to a question from FNC member, Marwan Obaid Al Muhairi, about considering calculating calories in food served in restaurants and food outlets.

The minister noted that although most of the work for the initiative is under the Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology has developed standard specifications for the explanatory data of meals served in restaurants and food establishments, as a matter of national contribution and social responsibility.

"The indicative specifications included some items such as calories and mentioning the names of materials and ingredients contained in the meals. All data and basic information that contribute to achieving the goals associated with providing all information and data should be listed,” said Al Jaber.

He added: "In the first phase of this initiative, we worked on developing guiding specifications to support the efforts of the Ministry of Health and Prevention. And through the health and food control authorities in the country, we are cooperating to submit this specification to the esteemed council of Ministers for approval so that it is a technical regulation that is mandatory for implementation according to the required procedures."

According to authorities, requiring the food outlets to give consumers nutritional and calorie information in a direct and accessible manner will help people make informed and healthy dietary choices.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com