The government issued two regulations that require calories to be listed on menus in chain restaurants and similar outlets that sell prepared food and for vending-machine food. The FDA said the goal of the rules, mandated by the 2010 health reform law, is to give consumers consistent and easy-to-understand information about what they’re eating. “Americans eat and drink about one-third of their calories away from home,” says FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg in a statement. “These final rules will give consumers more information when they are dining out and help them lead healthier lives.”
Restaurants and other purveyors of hot food will have a year to comply. Vending machine operators will have two years.
“The rules are far broader than consumer health advocates had expected, covering food in vending machines and amusement parks, as well as certain prepared foods in supermarkets,” said the New York Times. “They apply to food establishments with 20 or more outlets, including fast-food chains like KFC and Subway and sit-down restaurants like Applebee’s and The Cheesecake Factory.”
Included in the calorie rules are alcoholic beverages if they are listed on a menu and “food at places of entertainment, such as movie theaters,” said FDA.