Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
What's That Meal Going To Mean For Your Waistline? Calorie Counts Coming
Chain restaurants, vending machines, grocery stores, coffee shops and pizza joints will soon have to display detailed calorie information on their menus under long-awaited rules to be issued Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. The calorie-posting requirements extend to an array of foods that Americans consume in their daily lives: popcorn at the movie theater, muffins at a bakery, a deli sandwich, a milkshake at an ice cream shop, a drive-through cheeseburger, a hot dog at Costco or Target. (Dennis, 11/24)
The rules will have broad implications for public health. As much as a third of the calories that Americans consume come from outside the home, and many health experts believe that increasingly large portion sizes and unhealthy ingredients have been significant contributors to obesity in the United States. ... Perhaps the most surprising element of the new rules was the inclusion of alcoholic beverages, which had not been part of an earlier proposal. (Tavernise and Strom, 11/24)
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday will release new rules that will require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to begin posting calorie information on their menus. ... The labeling rules will take effect a year from now. (Aubrey, 11/24)
Caloric ignorance will no longer be bliss at many restaurants across the country starting next year. The Obama administration plans to unveil final labeling rules on Tuesday that require restaurants with at least 20 locations to display the calorie count of food items on their menus. The changes, part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, will bring the type of calorie tallies on public view across New York City and Seattle to chain restaurants nationwide. The changes have been delayed for years, and drew intense pushback from food chains and retailers that argued they were being unfairly included in the mandate. (Tracy, 11/24)
Restaurant chains will soon have to post calories for every dish of chicken Alfredo, every cheeseburger combo, every margarita and most every other item on the menu thanks to new rules from the FDA expected Tuesday. (Bottemiller Evich, 11/24)
