Listing the amount of calories on restaurant menus is important.
Nine out of 10 people underestimated the calorie content of certain items by an average of 600 calories, almost 50 percent less than the actual calorie content, according to a study in the American Journal of Public Health. Portion sizes have increased which makes it difficult for consumers to estimate calories consumed.
The National Institutes of Health says that weight gain results because “a single meal from one of these restaurants often contains enough calories to satisfy a person’s caloric requirement for an entire day.” By providing consumers with the nutrient values that are in their food they’re able to make informed decisions.
Some friends recently visited the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and spent quite a bit of time pouring over the menu. They were shocked that some of the offerings provided an entire day’s worth of calories.
The Cheesecake Factory “won” two of the top nine worst fast food “awards” given this year by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Menu labeling is already place in restaurants in New York City, California, several other states, and a few cities and counties, such as King County in Washington state and Multnomah County in Oregon.
These state and local restaurant menu labeling programs will be replaced by a new federal law, part of the Affordable Care Act signed into law this spring, which sets new requirements for restaurants that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations, coffee shops, delis, movie theaters, bakeries, ice cream shops, and vending machines.
The new law requires these food establishments to list calorie content information on menus and menu boards, including drive-through menu boards.
Other nutrition information – total calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fiber, and total protein – must be made available in writing on request.
Consumers have the opportunity to let Food and Drug Administration know how they would like to see a new law carried out.
The FDA will propose rules to carry out the law by March 23, 2011. The agency also will issue guidance on the requirements.
The FDA wants suggestions and comments from consumers – in addition to members of the food industry, state and local governments, and other interested parties – about menu labeling in docket number FDA-2010-N-0298 at www.regulations.gov. The docket opened on July 7 and will be open for 60 days.
To submit your comments electronically:
- Choose “Submit a Comment” from the top task bar.
- Enter the docket number FDA-2010-N-0298 in the “Keyword” space.
- Select “Search.”
To submit your comments to the docket by mail, use the following address:
The Division of Dockets Management
HFA-305
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
Be sure to include docket number FDA-2010-N-0298 on each page of your written comments.
