Fast food restaurants told to join in NCD fight

Burger King is playing its part to help reduce the Non Communicable Disease (NCD) dilemma Barbados is facing.

General Manager, Restaurant Associates Limited Ryan Walters, assured Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir who was present for the official opening of Burger King’s sixth location at Holetown, St James that the restaurant has the best interests of its customers at heart.

“Four years ago we took it upon ourselves to ensure that each customer that comes through our doors, has information on the calorie intake of every item that we have to offer. We have them posted in each store that customers can view, and they are on our website as well. It provides them with a lot of information so that they can control the intake of the food at Burger King,” he said.

The general manager said Burger King has also gone a step further with a Have It Your Way initiative, which allows customers to order their food exactly how they want it.

“For example, most of our menu items are made to order, so there is nothing sitting. When the customer places the order is when we prepare the sandwich. So that gives us the ability to work with the customer on the exact meal they want. If they want less mayonnaise, if they want more lettuce, if they want more tomato, we have the ability to give the customer what they want,” he said.

Minister Weir, who congratulated Burger King on its accomplishments including its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), urged all fast food restaurants and food
vendors across the island, to provide nutritional food for Barbadians.

“We are prepared to challenge you to consider what it is you are providing for consumption in terms of nutrition and the inputs that go in. And perhaps that challenge I want to place before Burger King today; but not just Burger King, every single fast food restaurant in Barbados.

“I am one who believes that corporate companies must have a social conscience. And living up to your social conscience, the responsibility falls to you therefore to make sure that our children are the beneficiaries of wholesome and nutritious foods and that therefore all of us collectively, everyone who is involved in the catering and provision of food in Barbados, must now join us as we seek to grapple with NCDs among children,” Weir added.

Meanwhile, Walters also indicated that from inception, Burger King has always been a 90 per cent eco-friendly business, giving customers less plastic and styrofoam packaging.

“As part of our corporate social responsibility as well, we contribute quietly, but significantly to local communities, churches, sporting organisations, schools and in some cases individuals. We have spent to the tune of almost $40 000 a year in supporting this type of activity and this is something that we have steadily done over the past five years,” Walters said.

The new Burger King is located in the Rubis Gas Station, Holetown.