New York's Board of Health is getting a lot of attention for their proposed ban on trans fats at restaurants in the city, but there is another proposal on the table that could have an even bigger impact on the dining community in NYC. The Board of Health is considering requiring some restaurants - beginning with chains and fast food establishments - to list the caloric content of their menu items on the menu. Not only that, but the calorie count must be "in type that is as large 'as the name or price of the item.'"
The NY Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is "intent on creating the nation's most rigorous system of calorie disclosure in restaurants" - which has restaurant owners worried about what they're going to serve. Chefs already admit that calories and fat aren't exactly major considerations when they are planning menus and restaurant owners are concerned that their offerings will have to change to such a degree that people won't want to eat out anymore. But the smaller eateries don't have to worry just yet because the rules will only apply to "restaurants with highly standardized menu items" that "already make their caloric content available on the Internet, in brochures or in some other format."
This clearly targets one sector of business, namely larger chains including McDonald's, Domino's Pizza and Starbucks, and some people are already arguing that such a requirement would impinge upon the rights of free and private enterprise. On top of that, though their items are standardized, the level of customization can be so great (at Starbucks, for example), that one calorie count would be almost meaningless. A McDonald's executive very accurately noted that it was "puzzling that New York is singling out restaurants that are already communicating with customers," since the information is out there, while it is not at non-chain restaurants - many of which are serving far greater portion sizes than the targeted restaurants.
Proponents say that this is similar to the 1980's laws that began to require the packaged-food industry to put nutrition labels on their products, enabling customers to make healthier choices. But if this is the case, they really should make it an all-or-none deal, not letting some restaurants get away without it while requiring others to put up the information.
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