Calorie Wise

What is Calorie Wise?

Calorie Wise is a scheme which businesses in Belfast can take part in to display calories on menus so people can have the information they need to make healthier choices when eating out. 

Calorie Wise is free and voluntary and is run in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (link opens in new window).

Calorie Wise aims to inform and enable people to make healthier choices more often when eating out, as well as encouraging food businesses to make healthier options more available.

If you’re a business and keen to join the scheme you’ll receive help and advice on how to calculate and display calories. There will also be guidance on how to provide healthier options for your customers by making small and simple changes to your menus. 

And with six in 10 adults either overweight or obese in Northern Ireland, this can make a big difference. 

The scheme asks businesses to make a voluntary commitment to display calorie information clearly and prominently on menus or menu boards, for standard food and non-alcoholic drinks.

Any restaurant, quick service restaurant, takeaway, café, pub, sandwich shop and staff restaurant or other outlet where we eat out, can join the scheme. To take part businesses should take the following steps:

1. Complete accurate nutritional analysis of menu items to identify kilojoule (kJ) and calorie content using a tool such as MenuCal
2. Display energy information:

• for ALL standard food and drink items sold
• clearly and prominently at the ‘point of choice’ for the consumers
• per portion or per meal
• on how many kJ and calories an average person needs in per day

Apply to be a Calorie Wise business

Contact our Food Safety Team on 028 9027 0468 or email [email protected] to apply to become a Calorie Wise business and if successful we will give you window stickers to show you are a member of the scheme, attracting more customers to your business.

Businesses awarded the Calorie Wise gold award

These are the Calorie-wise businesses that have all achieved the Gold Award:

• Browns Award Winning Fish and Chips, 6 Woodbourne Crescent, BT11 9PH
• MG Chips ‘N’ Things, 870 Shore Road, BT36 7DQ
• McDonald's, 2 Knocknagoney Road, BT4 2PW
• McDonald's, Connswater Retail Park, Connswater Link, BT5 5DL
• McDonald's, 233 Shore Road, BT15 3PR
• McDonald's, 2-4 Donegall Place, BT1 5BA
• McDonald's, Westwood Shopping Centre, Kennedy Way, BT11 9BQ
• McDonald's, 1-3 Glenmachen Street, BT12 6JA
• Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Premises
• Spoons Restaurant, Royal Victoria Hospital, Grosvenor Road, BT12 6BA
• Terrace Restaurant, Belfast City Hospital, 51 Lisburn Road, BT9 7AE
• Musgrave Park Hospital, Stockmans Lane, BT9 7JB
• Mater Hospital, Crumlin Road, BT14 6AD

Nutrition advice

For a healthy, balanced diet, you need to eat the right amount and range of foods. It can boost your health, save you money and improve your lifestyle.

For more information on diet and nutrition visit the NHS Choices website (link opens in new window).