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Subscribe to our News FeedCalif. Calorie Labeling Law To Go Into Effect
Beginning on January 1, 2011, California chain restaurants with 20 or more locations nationwide will be required to post calories on menus.
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Healthier Fried Foods
The latest Food Product Design features the "how-to's" of healthier frying. Bill McCullough of Bunge states one key is to maximize the monounsaturated oils to drive stability and health.
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What California Restaurant Operators Need to Know About the State’s Trans Fat and Menu Labeling Requirements: New Restrictions Take Effect on January 1, 2011
On January 1, 2011, California will begin implementing a complete artificial trans fat ban for all foods. Restaurants will be required to post calories on menus and provide nutrition brochures at the drive-through upon request.
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Kathryn Rem: Top Restaurant Trends for 2011
Technomic, a Chicago-based research firm, has released their expected restaurant trends for 2011. Food trucks, home-style cooking, and healthful menu modifications are among the top restaurant trends.
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Chefs Predict the Biggest Trends for 2011
Locally sourced ingredients and sustainability topped the list of the top trends in restaurants for next year, according to an annual survey of chefs by the National Restaurant Association.
The NRA asked 1,527 chefs, all members of the American Culinary Federation, what they expected to be top of mind in 2011.
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N.J. Won’t Enforce State Menu-Labeling Rule
In a victory for the restaurant industry, New Jersey recently joined Oregon, Massachusetts and Nassau County, N.Y., in acknowledging that the new federal menu-labeling law preempts state and local mandates not identical to the federal standard.
Because of the new federal law, New Jersey officials notified the New Jersey Restaurant Association and others that the state will not implement state menu-labeling rules set to take effect Jan. 1.
The federal legislation specifically preempts all state and local laws not identical to federal rules governing calorie and other nutrition data-posting requirements on menus in covered chain restaurants.
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Low Fat Diets Could Increase Heart Disease Risk, Say Nutrition Experts
Many Americans aim to eat low-fat foods but there is strong evidence that replacing fat with carbohydrates could be harmful to health, according to nutrition experts at the ADA conference in Boston last week.
Recommendations to reduce saturated fat intake are largely based on the notion that high levels increase risk of cardiovascular disease, but unless saturated fat is replaced with other fats, many studies have suggested that fat reduction could increase risk of heart disease.
During a symposium called “The Great Fat Debate: Is There Validity In the Age-Old Dietary Guidance?” at the American Dietetic Association’s (ADA) Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo, four leading experts presented evidence suggesting that low fat diets may be less healthy than those containing at least a moderate amount of fat. In particular, all four agreed that replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates – as has been widely recommended in the United States – is likely to raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.
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Top 5 Trends for a Post-Menu-Labeling World
With menu labeling a likely reality for restaurant chains next year, the foodservice industry will be forced to “walk the fine line between open disclosure and customer satisfaction,” according to new analysis from researchers at Mintel.
The Chicago-based market research firm identified five foodservice trends for next year that will result from the attempt to balance federal menu labeling mandates for chains with more than 20 locations and the differing demands of customers in a still- challenging economy.
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Scientists Unlock How Trans-Fats’ Harm Arteries
The method by which dietary trans fats cause hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) may have been identified by a new study on mice fed a high trans fat diet.
The research paper, published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, suggests that high levels of trans fats cause atherosclerosis by reducing the responsiveness of a key protein that controls growth and differentiation in cells. The protein, known as transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, plays an important role in immunity and the development of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
The findings of the study reinforce recent moves by industry to move away from the use of trans fats after studies linked the predominantly man-made fat with a range of health problems.
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Not-too-impressive Results on the Effect of Menu Labeling
Laws requiring fast-food restaurant chains to include nutritional information, especially calories, on menus or menu boards have garnered a lot of support. California was one of the first states to adopt the policy. And, under the healthcare reform bill, the provision will be required nationally.
But do these regulations really change what people purchase? A few studies on the affect of the law so far have been mixed. In what is probably the most disappointing data so far, researchers attending the Obesity Society annual meeting in San Diego said Tuesday that their study found menu labeling had little effect on normal-weight children but did lead to modest, reduced calorie consumption in overweight or obese children.
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High Trans-Fat Diet Linked with Overweight Children: Study
Mothers who consume a diet high in trans-fats may be doubling the risk that their infants will have high levels of body fat, according to new research.
The study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests mothers consuming over 4.5 grams of trans- fats per day while breastfeeding may be twice as likely to have children with high percentages of body fat. – According to the FDA, the average daily trans- fat consumption in the USA is 5.8 grams per day
“What this suggests is that the content of a mother’s diet in terms of trans fatty acid intake is a stronger predictor of maternal percent body fat than both pre-pregnancy weight and pregnancy weight gain,” wrote the researchers, led by Dr. Alex Anderson, assistant professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Georgia, USA.
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One Year After Cambridge Trans Fat Ban, No Fines
Cambridge — In the year since Cambridge outlawed artificial trans fat in city food service establishments, not a single business has been fined for being in violation of the regulation.
Between July 2009, when the regulation went into effect, and June 2010, Inspectional Services conducted more than 1,100 inspections. More than 30 businesses, or 3 percent, were found to be using products containing trans fat.
The violators discontinued use of trans fat and were not fined.
“It was totally our expectation that there would be some trans fat findings after the ban went into effect, because there is always a learning curve and establishments have to get used to looking for this on their products,” said Josefine Wendel, a nutritionist who works for the Cambridge Public Health Department. “The fact that it was such a small number was amazing and shows the great response of the restaurant community in Cambridge.”
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What Federal Menu-Labeling Rules Mean for Your Restaurant, Part 2
Anita Jones-Mueller of Healthy Dining continues her two-part look at the Food and Drug Administration's recently issued guidance regarding the implementation of new federal menu-labeling legislation.
Click here for the first installment, where she discusses what restaurants and menu items are covered, and how chains will be expected to post nutrition information.
What about restaurants with 19 locations or fewer?
In July, the FDA issued a Federal Register notice that explains how restaurants and similar retail food establishments with fewer than 20 locations can voluntarily register to become subject to new federal menu-labeling requirements. Why would a restaurant want to register? Although the guidance document outlining the compliance and pre-emption details has not been released, it looks like there are two main benefits of registering:
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Health Department to Help Jefferson County Restaurants Add Calorie Counts to Menus
There soon will be more nutritional information available on menus at Jefferson County restaurants.
Next month, the Louisville Metro Department of Health & Wellness in will launch a $500,000 program to begin working with local restaurants and eateries to help them calculate calories in their dishes and print that information on their menus.
The money is coming from a $7.9 million federal obesity prevention grant, secured by the Health Department in March. The menu labeling is a voluntary program — for now — and Health Department officials believe they can work with between 50 and 200 local restaurants with the available money.
FDA Briefs Restaurant Industry on Nutrition Disclosure Guidance
The Food and Drug Administration today released guidance on the new federal nutrition- disclosure law that requires restaurants with 20 or more locations to post nutrition data on restaurant menus and menu boards.
The new federal menu-labeling requirements were part of the health care law Congress passed in March.
The FDA is charged with explaining and implementing the law. In a teleconference briefing for the industry today, the agency outlined its plans for implementing the law.
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Healthy Dining and NRN to Create Nutrition News Hub
Healthy Dining, a company providing nutrition analysis and consulting services to restaurants, debuted today a new online location focused on nutrition news and insights, featuring content from industry leader Nation’s Restaurant News.
The new online destination — Restaurant Nutrition: News & Insights for the Foodservice Industry — is backed by American Express and the National Restaurant Association and will provide restaurateurs strategies to address the most pressing nutrition issues affecting the industry today. It will be backed with news and insights from Nation’s Restaurant News.
Topics include complying with new menu labeling regulations, reducing sodium, calories and fat, improving the healthfulness of kids’ meals, offering a gluten free menu, and capitalizing on the growing wellness trends.
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County Puts Heat on Bakeries
ALBANY -- Two outspoken opponents of Albany County's trans fat ban, both of whom own bakeries, were among four business people receiving warning letters this week from the county that they violated the ban, could face fines and must appear at a hearing.
But County Legislature Chairman Dan McCoy said Tuesday that the Aug. 18 hearing would be adjourned while he attempts to work with health officials to find a common ground with the bakers.
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FDA Issues Terms for Voluntary Compliance with Menu Labeling Regulations
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice specifying the terms and conditions for voluntary compliance with section 4205 of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which established nutritional labeling requirements for chain restaurants with more than 20 locations and vending machine operators with more than 20 machines. Other retailers not covered by section 4205 can elect to become subject to the federal law by registering biannually with FDA.
Restaurants and similar establishments that voluntarily opt in “will no longer be subject to State or local nutritional labeling requirements unless those requirements are identical to Federal requirements,” according to the agency. Vending machine operators are already covered by state and local regulations identical to federal requirements, although Congress has “expressly provided” that they may still undertake voluntary registration. The agency will accept comments until October 21, 2010. See Federal Register, July 23, 2010.
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Baking Sans Trans
For the last few years, the food industry has had an image problem. Congress is pressing for increased food- safety legislation; consumers are skeptically eyeing ingredient labels; and consumers are turning to locally grown and produced foods. In my town, that includes buying home-baked goods from neighbors. It seems that trust lies heaviest where there is zero regulation.
At last the industry has some good news, at least in the realm of healthier fats. A recent study failed to validate this consumer mistrust. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), affectionately known as the food police, hired Harvard researchers to see if food manufacturers have simply replaced trans fats with potentially "bad" saturated fats. The results, published in the May 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, (362(21):2,037-2,039) found that after reformulation, almost all of the 83 brand-name packaged and restaurant foods had lower amounts of trans and saturated fatty acids than their earlier counterparts. The researchers concluded that the industry has met the trans challenge by producing heart-healthier foods.
There is still room for improvement, though. Some foods have faced a more-difficult transition than others, including baked goods.
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Visit FitFrying Partner at IFT Annual Meeting 2010
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Find them at the corner of Cermak (22nd) and Prairie, one block west of McCormick Place Hyatt. Happy Hour – Monday, July 19th from 3:00pm – 5:30pm
Consumers Eager for Menu Labeling
With a national calorie-posting mandate on the horizon for chains with 20 or more units, signed as part of the federal health care bill, restaurant-goers are welcoming the notion of menu transparency, according to a survey by trend tracker Mintel.
Still, consumers want their food to taste good above all else. More than 60 percent of consumers think nutrition information should be posted on menus, and 44 percent believe federal or local governments should make that happen, the survey released Wednesday by Chicago-based Mintel found.
New USDA Nutrition Guidelines Focus on Unhealthy Population
The latest set of national dietary guidelines acknowledges that many Americans are unhealthy and emphasizes efforts to battle the obesity epidemic.
In addition to lower sodium and saturated and trans fat goals, the recommendations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services also call for policymakers and the food industry to become engaged in the fight.
"The most important issue is that this set of guidelines is addressing an unhealthy American public for the first time," said Linda Van Horn of Northwestern University, chair of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. "The obesity epidemic is priority number one, and every single thing in this report is focused on addressing that problem up front."
Yet in terms of intake recommendations, there are not many changes from the last guidelines update in 2005. Link to Article
King County Tweaks Menu-Labeling Rules
Some changes are coming to King County's menu–labeling regulation. Today members of the Seattle–King County Health Board will hear recommendations on how to align its laws with new federal standards.
It's been over a year since the Seattle–King County Health Board required that chain restaurants inform customers about the calories and nutritional content of their food. Back then Seattle was one of two cities with a menu–labeling requirement. Soon, all states must provide that information, under the federal health care law. For now, King County customers will see very little change. Meanwhile the county is gearing up for the transition...
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Lawmakers ask for a side of calories
Counting your calories could get a whole lot easier under a proposal released Wednesday that would require Florida restaurants and fast food chains to list the caloric content of each meal on the menu.
Rep. Ed Homan (R-Tampa) and Sen. Steve Wise (R-Jacksonville) have filed legislation that would require nutritional labeling to appear directly on the menus. The information, the lawmakers said, will help patrons make healthier choices and put a dent in the nation's obesity rate...
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Troutman Advises Against Ban on Trans Fats
There won’t be a ban on harmful artificial trans fats any time soon in Jefferson County.
Dr. Adewale Troutman, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Health and Wellness, recommended to a metro council committee Wednesday that the city not implement a county-wide ban on hydrogenated oils in the preparation of food in restaurants...
Philly begins enforcement of menu information law
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Restaurants in Philadelphia must now show customers the caloric content of their dishes.
The city's health department is beginning enforcement Monday of the city's new menu labeling law. The law took effect at the start of the year but officials gave restaurants a month to prepare...
Delaware Moves to Require Menu Labeling
DOVER, Del. (Jan. 22, 2010) Delaware became the latest state to weigh in on the menu-labeling issue when the Senate passed a measure requiring that restaurants post nutrition data on menus. The bill now moves to the House.
Passed by a 15-5 vote, the measure, SB 81, would require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations nationwide to list the number of calories on menus and menu boards. The information must be provided adjacent to each item in a size and typeface similar to the price and other information...
NJ Readies Menu Labeling Law
TRENTON, N.J.: New Jersey lawmakers passed Wednesday a measure requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets around the country to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards in their locations throughout the state.
The state Assembly passed the bill by a margin of 42 to 32, with one abstention. The Senate had passed the bill late last year by 22 to 15, and now it goes to the governor for his signature. Outgoing New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has said he would sign the menu labeling legislation. Once signed, the law gives chain restaurants one year to comply...
New Laws 2010: California Bans Trans Fat in Restaurants
Starting on Jan 1, 2010, California prohibits restaurants from using oils, margarines and shortening with more than half a gram of trans fat per serving, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The new law was actually passed by the California Legislature in 2008, but the state gave the restaurants time to change their recipes and menu to avoid introduction of trans fat into restaurants-prepared meals....
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Diners Eat Fewer Calories When Menu Lists Entrees’ Contents
Diners consume far fewer calories at dinner and afterward when the calorie content of entrees is listed on the menus along with information on how many calories they should consume in a day, a new study shows.
Researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University recruited 303 adults and invited them to have a dinner with lots of different restaurant menu options...
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Broome Bans Trans Fats in Eateries
Broome County legislators on Thursday enacted a new law banning trans fats in cooking oil at the county's 700-odd eateries, but not all 19 lawmakers think it's a good idea.
“I didn't sign on to be legislating to residents what people should eat,” said Ronald Keibel, one of five Republicans who voted against the measure. One of 14 Democrats, John Hutchings, also voted against the law, which passed 13-6.
The law would ban the use of trans fats in cooking oil and would be enforced by the Broome County Health Department...
Congress Fights Obesity With Healthcare Bills
In 2018, more than half the adults in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, and South Dakota could be obese. That's just one of many alarming projections in a study released last week by Kenneth Thorpe, chair of Emory University's Department of Health Policy and Management, and it comes, appropriately, as Congress is grappling with how to best reform a healthcare system that is becoming wildly and unsustainably expensive....
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N.J. Latest state to tackle menu labeling
TRENTON, N.J. — (Nov. 24, 2009) Officials of the New Jersey Restaurant Association say they strongly oppose the passage of a bill requiring some restaurants in the state to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards.
The measure, which was approved Monday by the Senate’s state health committee by a vote of 7-0, requires restaurants in New Jersey with 20 or more outlets across the country to post calorie counts adjacent to food and beverage items and offer additional nutritional information to customers upon request...
Maryland county to require menu labeling
ROCKVILLE, MD — (Nov. 17, 2009) Montgomery County Council members passed a measure Tuesday requiring some restaurants to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards.
The law, which was passed by an 8-1 vote, requires restaurants in the Maryland county with 20 or more outlets nationwide to post calorie counts alongside food items and provide additional nutritional information to customers upon request...
Health Care Reform Bill includes menu labeling for chain restaurants
WASHINGTON, DC — Part of the 1,990 page health care reform bill introduced by Nancy Pelosi yesterday (October 29th, 2009) includes a new mandate for chain restaurants with over 20 public locations. The bill proposes that the specified restaurants would be required to prominently post the amount of calories and in some cases more nutritional information for standard menu items...
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Calorie Counts on Menus Force Hard Choices
NEW YORK — Alejandra Ramos has lost her appetite for the occasional carnitas burrito from Chipotle, the frozen frappucino from Starbucks and the blueberry muffin from Dunkin' Donuts. And she's not happy about it.
"Once they put up the calorie counts, then suddenly I was like, `I can't eat this, this is a whole day's worth of calories,'" said Ramos, 26, of her Chipotle burrito. At Starbucks, the culinary writer said, "I have ended up ordering a hot tea, which is nothing, or a bottle of water." Blame New York City officials for her misery. The city requires chain restaurants to post calories alongside menu items, which means she has to face the music...