Wigan Council Uses Nutritional Analysis

WIGAN COUNCIL USES NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

TECHNOLOGY FOR RESTAURANT AWARD

Wigan Council has adopted the latest technology to check the nutritional content of food being served at eateries throughout the borough as part of an initiative to encourage healthier eating.

 

The Council is working in partnership with NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan to launch a voluntary scheme this April aimed at the food outlets across the Borough. The Healthy Business Award aims to recognise those restaurants, takeaways and related food businesses that are meeting not only food hygiene and trading standards but also offering healthier choices on the menus.

 

To help facilitate the award, the Council’s team will be using Saffron Nutrition nutritional analysis software provided by catering IT specialist Fretwell-Downing Hospitality, to check the nutritional content, in particular the calorie, sugar, salt, fat and saturated fat levels, of dishes being served to the public.

 

Wigan Council’s Julie Searing explains: “One in five people in Wigan borough are sufficiently overweight as to be putting their health at risk.  Our main aim is to help people to take the healthy option – if they want to. To do that, we’ll be working with local restaurateurs and caterers to help them develop healthier menus, particularly those with less fat, salt and sugar.

 

“The nutritional analysis technology will be a valuable support tool for our team, not only in checking the nutrient content of the meals being served, but also by working with caterers to show them how even small changes to recipes can make a difference.”

 

Saffron Nutrition analyses recipes using both the food industry’s bible, the McCance and Widdowson database of nutrient values, and the information provided by the major foodservice suppliers. The analysis is then depicted as graphs or traffic lights showing red, amber or green depending on the levels of specific nutrients.  The software is also capable of costing out menu plans and flagging up potential allergy-inducing ingredients.

 

The adoption of the technology by Wigan Council comes hot on the heels of the Food Standards Agency’s scheme to encourage restaurants to display nutritional information such as calorie levels on menus. Once the Healthy Business Award has been established, Wigan is considering a similar development by providing the catering establishments to have the option of displaying a consumer-friendly version of the Saffron Nutrition analysis for their customers.

 

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