The Food and Drug Administration has made calorie counts in restaurants and other food establishments required across the nation.
The rule would require any food establishment with 20 or more locations to prominently post calories counts beginning in May of 2018. “Food establishment” includes restaurants, fast food chains, and even movie theaters, amusement parks and vending machines.
“I – like many Americans – want to know what’s in the food I eat,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., in a statement. “One important step is ensuring consumers have access to reliable and actionable information about the foods they eat so that they can make more informed choices about their diets and health for themselves and their families.”
This move by the Trump Administration continues the effort of the previous administration’s efforts to provide calorie information that was constantly blocked or delayed due to food groups insisting on the information being presented their way. Even the Trump Administration itself delayed this rule earlier this year.
According to VOX, pizza makers wanted calorie information in the serving sizes sold, not in the sizes people actually eat, and movie theaters wanted to keep their high popcorn tub calorie counts off the menu as well.
A recent study released on Monday says calorie counts on menus have been effective in consumers making lower calorie count choices and retailers increasing their lower calorie options.
The study, published in the Journal of Retailing, showed that displaying calorie information has led to a reduction of 27 calories per meal for consumers. It also led to a 15 calorie decrease for overall menu items.
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