Businesses And Health Professionals Support Proposed Nutritional Information Legislation

By Nancy K. Crevier

An Act Concerning Access To Health And Nutritional Information In Restaurants, Public Act 0157, was passed Monday, June 1, by the Connecticut House of Representatives, following passage in May by the State Senate. If signed into law by Governor M. Jodi Rell, effective July 1, 2010, any restaurant “that is part of a group of 15 or more restaurant locations nationally” will be required to “make available to consumers the total number of calories for each standard menu item as that item is usually prepared and offered for sale by the chain restaurant… in a size and typeface similar to other information included on the standard printed menu….”

Businesses in Newtown that could be affected by the law include Starbucks, Five Guys Burgers on South Main Street, Subway on Church Hill Road and South Main Street, Panera Breads in the Sand Hill Plaza, and Coldstone Creamery. But those local businesses that responded to inquiries from The Bee were supportive of the legislation.

General manager John Johnson at Panera Breads said on June 11 that he was unaware of the pending law. Currently, Panera stores have all nutritional information on each standard item, including calorie count, available upon request for customers, said Mr Johnson. “Overall, I think the law would be a good thing,” he said. “Our customers in general are very aware of what they are consuming. I think it would be good.”

Starbucks, which operates a storefront on Church Hill Road, issued a statement saying, “We are pleased with the final version of the Connecticut nutritional labeling bill. We understand that our customers appreciate having information that helps them to make informed nutritional decisions.” Starbucks provides printed nutritional information at each of its stores, as well as on the website already, as do the other chain restaurants found in Newtown.

Other restaurant chains are not pleased by the prospect of a state law regulating how nutritional information is passed on to its customers. Testimony presented to the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) in March by Irene Pia, area director of operations for Chili’s Grill & Bar expressed a desire for the federal government, rather than state government, to set a national standard for nutrition-information disclosure. “Such a uniform national nutrition standard will allow consumers access to detailed nutrition information that meets their needs,” said Ms Pia in her statement. Chili’s already provides the calories, fat, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, and sodium content for all menu items on the organization’s website, as well as providing current allergen menu information.

A uniform national nutrition standard, added Ms Pia, would also provide a single set of guidelines in how nutrition information is calculated.

Reuters news organization reported on Wednesday, June 10, that large US chain restaurants had agreed to support federal legislation that would require them to disclose calories on their menus. “The restaurant industry, which has conceded that change is on the way, has urged the federal government to establish a uniform nationwide approach — rather than a patchwork of local and state laws….”

The measure is backed by the National Restaurant Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

In testimony presented to the CGA, Richard Rosenthal, president of the Max Restaurant Group and chairman of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, expressed his concerns this spring with the implementation and practicality of the legislation in Connecticut, particularly for independent restaurants that could one day expand to the cut-off number for outlets (now designated as having 15 or more outlets nationwide). “To have to seek new laboratory analysis with every minor fluctuation of ingredients would be an incredible burden for all but the largest chains that operate thousands of restaurants and employ scientists alongside their chefs,” stated Mr Rosenthal. As even restaurant chains begin to recreate themselves to the mold of independent restaurants and encourage consumers to “have it your way,” Mr Rosenthal said it would be difficult for a business to account for the many combinations with which a customer could order a product, and come up with a calorie count. (Since Mr Rosenthal’s testimony in March, the bill has included the language to note that individual variations do not have to be posted, only the calorie count for standard menu items.)

In closing, Mr Rosenthal noted that education is critical, “but that it is not the role of restaurants and food stores, it is the role of public health and the educational system.”

The associate director for public policy of the Yale Cancer Center at Yale University School of Medicine, Jerold R. Mande, said June 11 in an interview with The Newtown Bee that education is important, but that it can be difficult for the average consumer to comprehend nutritional information. Consumers routinely underestimate the number of calories in fast food, he said, and while it would be most useful to have all nutritional information at the point of purchase, listing calories alone is a step in the right direction toward tackling the explosion of obesity in America. “Of course,” said Mr Mande, “if you want to understand the full impact of food you need a lot of additional information [beyond calorie count].”

The Point Of Behavior

Listing calories does help consumers make wiser decisions, said Mr Mande, based on studies done in New York City where this law has been in effect for more than a year. “Consumers there overwhelmingly respond to information on the menus. That’s why it’s so important for us to take this step. The information has to be right there at the point of behavior,” he said. With packaged food, said Mr Mande, who was instrumental in the design and implementation of the nutritional labeling on packaged foods, studies show that having the information at point of purchase helps form the opinion of a product.

The problem of obesity in the United States is disproportional to lessened activity, Mr Mande said, so experts have looked at other explanations for the growing problem. “Calories do count when looking at why people do get fat,” he said. Not only that, as food designers have discovered the ability of sugars, fats, and salt to trigger pleasure points in people, food items have been created with amounts of these products that far exceed what a home cook would add. Fried items in a restaurant may be double fried as well.

If Americans were eating out only occasionally, the calories might not add up so quickly. But the number of people who eat out regularly at chain restaurants has increased in number, said Mr Mane, and serving sizes have been increased over the years.

By listing calories and nutritional information on packaged foods, Mr Mande said, food designers with whom he has spoken have said that how they approach a food product is affected positively as they try to make a product that appeals to the public and meets health criteria. He is hopeful that by listing calories on menus, that individuals will experience a similar positive effect.

“Requiring labeling in restaurants will not only help the state tackle obesity,” he said in his statement to the CGA, “but it is also among the most important steps we can take to combat cancer.”

The bill has the support, as well, of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University. The Rudd Center statement to the CGA, presented by Roberta Friedman and Kelly D. Brownell, states that Americans today spend 47 percent of their food budget and eat one-third of their calories in restaurants and from other food service vendors.

“What menu labeling does,” Ms Friedman, director of public policy at Rudd, told The Newtown Bee, “is give customers information to make informed decisions.” It is complicated to understand, she said, why Americans do not police nutrition themselves. “Many simply do not have the information that they need. We are getting so many messages thrown at us about what we should and shouldn’t be eating that it can be confusing to the average consumer,” said Ms Friedman. “Menu labeling will be beneficial to more people than not. It’s a very good public health measure.”

Assessing The Sauces

Newtown certified dietician nutritionist Stacia Helfand has come to the conclusion that giving consumers access to nutritional information on menus is a good thing. “Sometimes you go into a fast food restaurant and order a grilled chicken sandwich, thinking you are doing a good thing, but you would be better off ordering the plain burger. It’s the sauces and dressings that add the calories, but not everyone knows that.”

There are a lot of reasons consumers frequent chain and fast food restaurants, said Ms Helfand. For some it is the occasional treat, but others become regulars because of the generally lower costs and larger portions.

“Research in other states with menu labeling laws shows that on menus where calories are listed, people will choose a lower calorie selection about one-third more of the time,” she said.

As a nutritionist, Ms Helfand said that she never wants people “eating numbers,” but it is important for people to not eat unaware of the numbers, too. She is not concerned that listing calories on menus will lead to a crisis for people with eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia.

“It may trigger something, but eating disorders are such a small part of the population compared to people with chronic diseases associated with poor eating habits. People with eating disorders are not going to go into any restaurant without having researched what they are going into,” she said. Listing calories on menus has the potential to benefit far more people than any that might be disturbed by the information, said Ms Helfand.

Whether enacted at the state or national level, experts in the eating habits of Americans agreed that providing caloric and nutritional information at the point of purchase could aid in preventing chronic health problems and obesity, and were hopeful that Gov Rell would sign into law the bill that has successfully been implemented in other states and cities across the nation.