The fish and chip industry has recommended a selection of standard portion sizes to address the wide variance of sizes currently sold in the UK.

 

Fish and chip businesses are being encouraged to give consumers the opportunity to make more informed decisions, by standardising and expanding their range of available portion sizes.

It is hoped that outlets adopting the recommendations will be able to reduce waste, improve their bottom line and provide more clarity around nutritional information

For example, under the new recommendations, a regular portion of fish would be 6oz (170g) and a regular portion of chips would be 10oz (284g).

The advice is informed by the industry’s largest ever research project, ‘Enjoy Fish & Chips’, a joint campaign from Seafish, the industry authority on seafood and AHDB.

The industry bodies’ research discovered a notable disparity in standard portion sizes served across the industry by comparing the fish and chips offered at over 600 UK businesses.

In the UK a medium portion of cod currently varies from 93g to 562g and a medium portion of chips varies from 100g to 797g.But the average price of a fish and chips meal only varies by 34 per cent from region to region.

The ‘Enjoy Fish & Chips’ campaign aims to arm fish and chip outlets with the tools they need to modernise their offering in line with the latest consumer preferences on variety and nutrition.

Designed for the industry, the Enjoy Fish & Chips website hosts a variety of online resources, including a ‘perfect serve’ tool that demonstrates the cost savings outlets can make by adapting their portion sizes to suit their business.

Tom Pickerell, technical director at Seafish commented: "The aim of these recommendations is twofold. Firstly, by standardising portion sizes across the industry, consumers will know what to expect when ordering their selected portion size, wherever they are in the UK.

"Secondly, it’s about choice. By offering a greater selection of sizes shops can potentially open themselves up to increased business from lunch time trade and by upselling single smaller portions, rather than a large shared portion.”

Rob Clayton, sector strategy directorat AHDB Potatoes added: "One of the key findings of the research suggested that one in three consumers said a greater range of portion sizes would encourage them to eat fish and chips more often. That^s more than 17 million people across the UK.

"Couple this with the fact that almost half (45 percent) of people would order smaller portions to cut their calorie intake and there is a huge potential marketplace for outlets to encourage health conscious consumers through their doors.”

The recommendations will also help the industry future-proof against predicted changes in legislation that will require independent food businesses to display nutritional information of products.

 

Size	Fish (pre-batter)	Chips	Peas
Small	3oz (85g)	5oz (142g)	4oz (113.4g)
Regular	6oz (170g)	10oz (284g)	4oz (113.4g)
Large	9oz (255g)	15oz (425g)	4oz (113.4g)
Extra Large	12oz (340g)	20oz (567g)	4oz (113.4g)