Some restaurants in New York now have to post calorie content of food

by Shayna Glick, Posted Apr 17th 2008 @ 7:01PM

Well, it's official, pending appeal of course. The New York Times today reported that the New York City ordinance that requires some restaurants to display calorie contents of menu items was upheld in federal court yesterday.

The ordinance mandates that restaurants which belong to chains with at least 15 outlets nationwide have to display the calorie count of food next to the price on the menu. The goal is to give people an idea of the calories they will consume, and help them to make better decisions. The ordinance is aimed at curbing obesity and will affect about 10% of the restaurants in the city.

The New York Restaurant Association is opposed to it of course. They claim that the ordinance is an infringement on their First Amendment rights of not having to carry a government message. The group also claims that the ordinance will "cause irreparable harm" if they have to implement the new rules next week. The association is going to appeal.

I don't see why the restaurant association is putting up a fight on this. It doesn't seem like it's that much trouble to post the calorie content on the menu. Surely they already know how many calories are in the food. I'm probably missing something here, though. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

Chew on This

Royal Wedding Cake Details Revealed! - YumSugar

Make Your Own Pop Tarts - CHOW
Denny's Introduces a Maple Bacon Sundae - Eater
Whole Foods Opening Bars in Stores - USA Today
Rules Of Bar Etiquette -- For The Bartender - HuffPost Food

Reader comments (Page 2 of 2)

4-19-2008 @11:43AM Naomi said... In Japan, many of the chain restaurants already post calorie counts on their menus. Of course, the portion sizes are a lot smaller so that the nutritional information is a lot less scary than for some of the things you'd find at restaurants in the states.

I think that many of these 1000 calorie salads and sandwiches that show up in restaurants today are unnecessarily extravagant. It is kind of a hassle, as well, to order at a restaurant and try to turn a fatty salad into a healthy one. And it often turns out that once you ask for no cheese, no chicken strips, no bacon pieces, no greasy croutons, and dressing on the side... there is nothing left of the salad except for a pile of lettuce and a few soggy vegetables.

Does our food really need all this fat piled on it to make it taste good? I hope that having to provide nutritional information will drive restaurants to make their food healthier overall.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

4-23-2008 @2:31PM Maria said... My husband is a Chef. There is a BIG uproar about this. It is NOT the restauramt's responsibility to police what people eat. EVERYONE should know how many calories, fat, etc. are in the foods they enjoy. That a cream sauce is higher in both than a vinegrette. Responsibility is making your own choices, not forcing an outside source to make them for everyone. Restaurants are in the business of selling food. They MUST make it as attractive and pleasant as possible. And, let's face it, the human appetite is genetically geared for fats and sweets. It's up to the individual to know how much (or not any) is right for them.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

5-07-2008 @4:33PM wellsphere said... I think it's a great idea restaurants are being asked to post info. It's amazing how hard restaurant chains are fighting to hide their nutrition information. It's hard to eat well when eating out, especially when you have dietary needs or want to watch your calorie intake. Often food items that seem healthy and are marketed that way are not. For this reason, my company just launched a new service called Wellternatives that lets people find nutrition info for thousands of chain restaurants — right from their cell phone or on the web. It also makes recommendations for a healthier alternative to your favorite restaurant meals, hence the name... Wellternatives: http://www.wellsphere.com/wellternatives.s
Reply