In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that calorie
declarations for restaurant items were beginning to show up on TV and in web
based ads. It appears that the industry is gearing up for the calorie
disclosure mandate that goes into effect this December (see the Final Rules for
ACA sect 4205[1]). I have noticed that up-front calorie
disclosures are becoming more prevalent in grocery stores as well.
The grocery store calorie proliferation is likely due to
several factors, including the Affordable Care Act’s wide reaching mandate.
Food manufacturers began adding front of pack labels some years ago (with
declarations THEY are comfortable with, i.e., not every manufacturer includes
calories or sugar amounts on the front of every one of their products), but one
voluntary version Facts Up
Front does provide info on calories and select nutrients, and it has
potential. If you click on the link
above, you can scroll through some of the examples. As an example, I have
noticed that most sliced bread brands have Facts Up Front labels now - with the
calories displayed - but BE CAREFUL sometimes its calories per 2 slices and
sometimes per 1 slice. The Institute of Medicine has recommended a
standardized, mandatory front of pack label with an interpretive design, for
example, 3 stars vs 1 star (I wrote about this recommendation a few years ago).
I believe that the more customers see
calorie disclosures, the more they will demand them - up-front. (The new calorie disclosure law is about
ready-to-eat foods at grocery stores, restaurants and similar establishments,
not packaged foods. But again, people are now expecting to see calories more
easily because of laws like this.)
One of the issues in labeling, especially for packaged or
self-serving foods (e.g., ice cream), is a push to present easily, or commonly,
understood serving sizes. The serving
sizes (usually) accompany the calorie counts on front labels, e.g., half a cup,
2 tablespoons. I think it would be a disservice to customers, however, not to
also include the weight in grams or number of ounces of that particular ½-cup
or tablespoon; a ½- cup of one item may not be commensurate with ½ a cup of
another item. Recently, I was choosing
between cookie brands. For each brand, the calorie amount per 3-cookie serving
was 130, but the serving for one brand had 20 grams and the other had 30 grams,
so in essence, I would get to eat MORE food for the same calories if I chose
the heavier product. I owe my ‘per unit’ calorie comparisons to lessons I have
gleaned from using UPC shelf labels, price per ounce, as I’ve mentioned in the
past.
I think that emphasizing serving size can also be context
specific. One place it makes sense for
the majority of people to see calories per serving ‘size’ instead of serving
‘weight’ is the vending machine. I say
this because, the usual serving size of a snack purchased from a vending
machine, or the amount customarily consumed, is the whole package. The package
is the serving size. Most people intend
to eat all the M&MS, Fritos, or Lays, so by scanning across all products
and knowing how many cals per pack, a person can, if they choose, pick the
lowest calorie package and be done with it.
(In time, I suspect, savvy customers will figure out that even here,
they can get more or less calories per package based on weight/volume.)
So that is very cool.
Calories are showing up more (this is good for people who are trying to
limit calories or who simply want to choose items with fewer calories - can’t
do it if you don’t know the numbers!).
The national law (again see ACA section 4205) covers more than foods –
restaurant chains under the laws jurisdiction will also have to display
calories for their alcoholic beverages!
Not the gin and tonic you order at the bar, but the Bahama Mama or
Margarita from places like Red Lobster and Chili’s. This is one place that the restaurant
industry in general, is not giving us a prelude with its on line menus. I went to the websites of more than 10
restaurant chains while writing this blog, and only one, Red Lobster, had its
alcoholic beverage calories posted. Some of these drinks have more calories
than my meals; I expect many drinks will be reformulated when the law goes into
effect. If you want to get an idea,
check out Red
Lobster’s menu – see page 2. Else, stick with lighter beers and wine or
traditional drinks, gin and tonic should have about 100 calories as does my
favorite Dee Dee Sour (Seagram’s seven and Fresca). BTW, the Red Lobster Caramel appletini has 160
cals and the chocolate martini has 330 – how could anyone know this without a
calorie disclosure on the menu, when you are ordering? Unless of course, it’s that ONE day a year
when none of this matters (smile face!)
