Labeling calories on menus mandatory – unhealthy eating discouraged further

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 23 2010

With the newly passed healthcare bill calorie counts at fast food and chain restaurants become mandatory. More than 200,000 fast food and other chain restaurants will have to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards, buffets, vending machines, alcoholic drink menus and even drive-throughs.

The new law applies to any restaurant with 20 or more locations and directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make a new standard for labeling of menus.

Apart form calorie counts the menus will need to inform the customer about sodium, carbohydrates, fiber and protein contained in the food item and portion.

The purpose of this directive is to create awareness among customers and stop food stores from hiding the calories offered in their wares. At present many restaurants give the calories counts and nutritional information in a hallway, food wrapper or on their websites. This new law will make such information more readily available.

"The nutrition information is right on the menu or menu board next to the name of the menu item, rather than in a pamphlet or in tiny print on a poster, so that consumers can see it when they are making ordering decisions," says Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, who wrote the provision.

New York City is the pioneer in the calorie posting law followed by California, Seattle Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Philadelphia and other places.

There is a need for uniform laws said Sue Hensley of the National Restaurant Association. "That growing patchwork of regulations and legislation in different parts of the country has been a real challenge, and this will allow operators to better be able to provide their information," she said.

Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said it's one step in the fight against obesity.

"Coffee drinks can range from 20 calories to 800 calories, and burgers can range from 250 calories to well over 1,000 calories," she said.

Although the laws seem to be well meaning the ultimate effect it has on customers is still far from encouraging. Only half of the NYC residents ever pay attention to the calorie information supplied. This comes from a place high on obesity and diabetes. The correctness of the information provided is also a question mark as of now.

In January, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association published a survey of 10 chain restaurants, including Wendy's and Ruby Tuesday, that said the number of calories in 29 meals or other menu items was an average of 18 percent higher than listed. The discrepancies were said to be due to variations in ingredients and portion sizes.

Some portions of the law will go into effect immediately. Experts estimated that it could take up to two years before the menu guidelines are issued.

"While it's a huge victory for consumers, it's just one of dozens of things we will need to do to reduce rates of obesity and diet-related disease in this country." The National Restaurant Association dropped its longstanding objection to menu-labeling last year and supported the language passed in Congress, Wootan said.