Some of the United Kingdom's leading restaurant chains drew flak from a new report for their children's menus containing chips and burgers, free soft drink refills, and sugar-filled treats.
According to the newly released Soil Association "Out to Lunch" report, many offerings in these establishments make it "almost impossible" for kids to be healthy.
In the investigation, more than half of the surveyed 21 restaurants showed no indication of the origins of their food, with a majority not freshly preparing food and cooking them in bulk.
A fast food chain's coated chicken item was discovered to contain 19 added ingredients, while potatoes pre-mashed in Holland, chicken from as far as Thailand and Brazil, and pre-cooked fish fingers from Poland were also featured on various brands' menus.
There were plenty of sugar offenders, too. Pizza Hut, Café Rouge, and Frankie & Benny's were criticized for their discounted or free sugary drink refills as standard offerings.
Soil Association revealed that two average-sized fizzy drink servings alone contain what equals 17.5 sugar cubes - beyond the National Health Service's recommended sugar intake of about five sugar cubes for children age's four to six.
"The crisis of obesity and unhealthy diets among children demands action from government," said Soil Association food and health policy officer, Rob Percival. "The proposed sugar tax is one option that the government should be considering," he added
Selling refillable soda is irresponsible, according to Percival, and that the government should tap these restaurant chains about the matter and take prohibitive steps against them.
Café Rouge brand director Georgia Hall assured that given the issue on fizzy drinks, they will be reviewing such offer in their stores and even their children's menu as a whole.
Jamie's Italian scored the highest in the 21-chain list with 64 out of 80 points, while Burger King stayed as the lowest with 11 points, refusing to participate in the survey. Strada and KFC joined Burger King in the bottom of the list. The investigation was conducted partly with an army of secret food diners.
Anya Hart Dyke, a parent who helped review the establishments in Scotland, said it is already "pretty stressful" just taking a child to a restaurant, with the food as the last thing expected to be a worry.
"It astounds me that for example one restaurant offered baked beans heavy with sugar and salt as an alternative accompaniment to vegetables," she said, adding that the adult menu was even often way much healthier.
The 2013 report of Soil Association, which advocates for organic food and farming along with food certification, found that 40 percent of parents dine in at a restaurant with their child at least once a fortnight. 66 percent, though, are not satisfied with children's food choices there.
Photo: Dean Hochman | Flickr
