 Jason Block, MD, MPH More than 40% of all food consumed in the United States is prepared, or ready-to-eatfood. Widespread policy change is underway, including calorie labeling and enhancements to the Nutrition Facts panel, to guide customers to healthier choices when dining in restaurants or buying prepared food. But convincing customers to make changes in fast-paced settings is difficult. Price and taste often quickly overtake health concerns. Why can’t we just change the default options to be healthier?
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 Beginning on December 1 in New York City, food items that are extremely high in sodium acquired a warning label. Specifically, any item that contains more than a full day’s worth of recommended sodium (>2300mg) will now have to be labeled with a somewhat innocuous image of a salt shaker, and the slightly less-subtle warning message: “High sodium intake can increase blood pressure and risk of heart disease and stroke”.
 The FDA recently released two new regulations that provide instructions to restaurants, grocery stores, vending machines and other food establishments for how they will have to comply with the law compelling them to post calories on menus. The idea motivating this law and regulations is that if consumers are aware of the calories of their purchases, they may make lower calorie choices. Is this true? Does the posting of calories or other nutritional information affect consumer choice? And if so, does the nature of the posted information make a difference?
 by Stephanie Linakis, MPH In late 2010, Congress passed a law requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more locations to post calorie content on their menus and menu boards. The law was a provision in the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), and was driven by the belief that individuals might consume excess calories when they are eating restaurant meals because of limited awareness of the calorie content. Since I manage a study that is investigating the impact of menu labeling at six chain fast-food restaurants in New England, I was particularly intrigued by a recent talk by Dr. Lorien Urban regarding restaurants exempt from the law.
 by Jason Block, MD, MPH This post will also be posted on the Eperspective blog from the Institute of Food Technologists.
The long-awaited final regulations for calorie labeling were released on December 1, 2014. These regulations come 4+ years after the law requiring them passed, as part of the Affordable Care Act. The regulatory verdict from the US Food and Drug Administration is clear: Calories will be everywhere. Nearly all chain food establishments that sell “restaurant-type food” and have 20 or more sites nationally will have to post calories on their menus. Despite early signals that some food establishments might be exempt, the final regulations state that fast-food restaurants, full-service restaurants, cafeterias, grocery stores, movie theaters, bakeries, convenience stores, vending machine operators, and yes, bowling alleys must comply. Schools are pretty much the only entities that aren’t included. The regulations give establishments until December 2015 to post calories; vending machine operators have until December 2016. |
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