Calorie label requirement of US health bill

Restaurant chains will include calories on menus

The new US health bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, includes a requirement that restaurant chains that have more than 20 or more restaurants will have to show calorie counts (and the calorie guideline daily amount) on menus. The effects are expected to be felt by around 200,000 restaurants – including drive-thrus. Vending machines will also be required to show clear calorie information.

The new law also requires the US Food and Drug Administration to draft a new national standard for menu labelling – this will supersede legislation being developed in US states and cities. The FDA will also be responsible for enforcement, and will be able to prosecute if the new rules are not followed.

Professor Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, said that Americans have a tendency to eat more (and worse) when eating out, and that ‘part of the reason may be because they don’t know what’s in fast foods, and they’re often shocked to find out’. Although some will ignore the information, others will be able to make more informed food choices.

Source: Medical News Today, 24 March 2010.

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