Determining the calories in a Chick-fil-A eight-count chicken nugget meal or a Papa John’s pizza slice will no longer be a guessing game for students come 2015.
In a series of “final rules,” the Food and Drug Administration mandated chain restaurants and places selling restaurant-type food list calories on their menus.
According to the FDA’s website, the goal of the new regulation is to provide consumers with more information to help them make informed choices about the food they eat away from home.
The new labels will serve as an amendment to the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, which did not cover labeling restaurant foods.
The menu labeling rules, according to the most recent FDA Consumer Update, will apply to take-out and delivery foods, fast foods purchased at drive-thrus, alcoholic drinks that appear on menus and movie theatre items.
In 2016, they will apply to vending machines, and the FDA will require that calories be listed on the front of labels or on a sticker near the food or selection button.
Dietetics junior Canon Cockrell said he’s excited about the policy change because he thinks it will lead restaurants to provide healthier menu options.
“It will also help dietitians’ clients follow their diet, which could prompt greater advantages like preventing heart disease and diabetes diagnosis,” Cockrell said. “And if it is able to do that just once, it will have paid off.”
Cockrell said knowing calorie count, while it does have its perks, may not always be the desired option for every customer. It will create an atmosphere of discomfort and make some people more self-conscious about their daily calorie consumption.
“It would also make me cautious to bring anyone with an eating disorder to a restaurant,” Cockrell said.
According to the FDA’s website, the rule calls for a reminder, “2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary,” to help consumers put calorie information into context based on their total daily diet.
Food items not covered under the rule include liquor bottles behind bars, food trucks, deli counters and grade school lunch menus.
Cockrell said he expects the regulation, overall, to work and promote a healthier society. However, the exceptions to the new rule will not allow Americans to be progressive against obesity.
“As long as frozen foods exist, the problem of obesity will always exist,” Cockrell said. “The problem is there are a significant amount of families dealing with obesity that do not eat out often, and that is something this regulation does not account for.”