Imagine buying a sweater with no price tag attached. You have no idea if the garment costs $40 or $140 until the total shows up at the cash register. Surprise! You just bought a really expensive sweater. That’s kind of the deal with nutrition facts for restaurant foods. Calorie counters have to guess.
There are smart phone apps and websites that detail dietary stats for restaurant dishes. But now consumers nationwide will be able to find nutrition information printed on millions of menus and on in-store signage because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued final rules requiring restaurant menu labeling.
“Menu labeling is the biggest advance in providing nutrition information to consumers since the law that required Nutrition Facts labels on packaged foods was implemented 20 years ago,” said Margo G. Wootan, nutrition policy director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
On the menu
Restaurant owners have one year to comply with menu labeling. In a statement to the press FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the new rules are important because many dine out frequently. “Americans eat and drink about one-third of their calories away from home, and people today expect clear information about products they consume.”
In addition to calorie counts posted on menus, written information on total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars and protein must be available upon consumer request.
Joy Dubost, registered dietitian with the National Restaurant Association said, “Many restaurant patrons have stated that menu labeling is important to them when dining out, and we also know that based on trend, data consumers are demanding more healthful options.”
Good nutrition news
Checking nutrition facts can reveal that the burger you really want actually has fewer calories than the entrée salad you thought you should order. Case in point: Five Guys Burger at 700 calories vs. Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad at 780 calories. But calories do not tell the whole health story. The salad has more fiber than the burger.
“It’s not what to delete, but what to eat,” said registered dietitian Janet Helm author of the blog Nutrition Unplugged. The new FDA rules only apply to eateries with more than 20 units but CSPI’s Wooten said, “We hope that small chains and independent restaurants provide the same information voluntarily.”
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