FSA clamps down on misleading menu terms

Restaurateurs and pub landlords will be taken to court unless they put a stop to the misleading use on their menus of words such as "fresh", "traditional" and "home-made".

Following the publication of a two-year study, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that all offending menus and packaging by food manufacturers must be changed by October. Spot-checks will be made by local authority environmental health and trading standards officers.<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /?>

An FSA spokesman said: "If a menu says ‘home-made apple pie' and the trading standards officer goes into the kitchen to find pre-packed frozen pies, or the menu says ‘traditional roast beef dinner' and it contains preservatives and additives, then clearly the customer is being misled."

The report says there is no place in food labelling for the term "country-style" and says that the term "farmhouse" should be used sparingly.

Research showed that 75% of consumers find terms such as "fresh", "natural", and "pure" misleading.

Ian McKerracher, chief executive of the Restaurant Association, supported the move. "It is in no-one's interest for a restaurant to make false claims that it cannot fulfil," he said.

But McKerracher also called for enforcement officers to adopt a moderate and sensible approach. "The last thing the restaurant industry needs is more regulation and legislation," he said. "We need good quality, practical guidance and encouragement to adopt best practice."