It should be required by federal law...

jdb3388
jdb3388 Posts: 239 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
...To have printed "Nutrition Facts" for every menu item in every restaurant in the country. It should be required to have it available either in print, at the front of the restaurant, or online for anyone to read. Does anyone else get as frustrated as I do when they go out to eat?
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Replies

  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    agreed, it should also have everything as uncooked weight, I hate when it says cooked weight because everyone cooks things differently and loses different amounts of water/fat like with bacon etc
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Sounds like a first world problem to me.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    It would be nice - but it is really expensive I guess to do that and so it wouldn't be economically feasible for smaller businesses to do it. However where I live it is required for larger companies.
  • jdb3388
    jdb3388 Posts: 239 Member
    Expensive? it would take about 2-4 hours (depending on menu size) to sit down with a menu and go through every item and calculate the totals. Then you could print out 1 copy for each table and laminate it and it could cost less than 50 bucks.

    There is no excuse not to let your customers know whats in what they are eating.
  • hirstrl
    hirstrl Posts: 157 Member
    I totally agree!! perfect example...tonight im having dinner with friends and we are going to Solea mexican restraunt. It is Cinco de Mayo n all :smile: and I am the only one of us that cares about calories at all LOL and i count everything! after scouring their menu (which is online but absolutely NO nutritional value) i have planned out my meal before hand. I took what i thought would have been the least amount of calories and googled the nutrition of every item and came up with an estimate. So i have planned my daily food around that number so i dont go over. i estimated over but still. it would be very nice to just be able to look at the menu with the nutritional values so i can make the best choice.... geez
  • HershFam5
    HershFam5 Posts: 19 Member
    YEP! I've even emailed grocery stores that have deli's inside them. I thought all foods were required to have these facts, and it's annoying when they don't. Though alot of places have the information on their website, it just isn't printed anywhere.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
    Move to NYC. So far it's only chain restaurants that are included, but it's now the law to label menus with nutritional information.
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
    Sounds like a first world problem to me.

    And many/most of us are in the first world nations . . . your point would be?
  • FireOpalCO
    FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
    Expensive? it would take about 2-4 hours (depending on menu size) to sit down with a menu and go through every item and calculate the totals. Then you could print out 1 copy for each table and laminate it and it could cost less than 50 bucks.

    There is no excuse not to let your customers know whats in what they are eating.

    Completely in "I could be wrong" territory here, but I thought the requirement was that for nutritional facts to be listed, the item had to be analysed by a lab and within a certain margin of error, not just worked out on paper.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    I like having it available, but as a consumer I can also choose where I eat. Being able to get accurate nutrition info often leads my decision.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Do I like when a restaurant has the nutritional information YES, do I think we need the government mandating yet another area of our lives NO! One meal isn't making a difference estimate what you had and move on, and if you are so worried about it don't go out to eat at that establishment.
  • hirstrl
    hirstrl Posts: 157 Member
    i understand small homestyle restraunts or no name bar & grills might not have them althought that would be nice. But I think ALL chain restruants should have to do it.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    ...To have printed "Nutrition Facts" for every menu item in every restaurant in the country. It should be required to have it available either in print, at the front of the restaurant, or online for anyone to read. Does anyone else get as frustrated as I do when they go out to eat?

    Right, that's what we need more regulation.

    If customers wanted it badly enough, they'd demand it and stop going out to eat until it was provided, seeing how awesome it's changed consumer behavior where it is mandated, I don't see why you would want it nationwide.

    What about restaurants that change their menu daily? And no it isn't as simple as putting it into an online tool, those nutrition facts on packaged products? Where do you think they come from or where do you think the nutrition info comes from on websites?
  • looseseal
    looseseal Posts: 216 Member
    Do I like when a restaurant has the nutritional information YES, do I think we need the government mandating yet another area of our lives NO! One meal isn't making a difference estimate what you had and move on, and if you are so worried about it don't go out to eat at that establishment.

    ^ Word.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    We definitely need more government oversight in our lives and mandates that are enforced at gunpoint.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    More laws are never the answer.
  • TexasOFT76
    TexasOFT76 Posts: 475 Member
    The federal government intruding on private businesses is not a good solution.

    Here's an alternative

    1. Go to restaurants that provide the information and avoid those that don't
    2. Encourage more of your friends to do the same

    Either the restaurants you're avoiding will begin providing that information to attract more business or they won't
  • Zx14chick
    Zx14chick Posts: 255 Member
    I don't know about a federal mandate, but it certainly would be nice. You never know what they're doing with your "grilled" chicken. My biggest problem is that most of the restaurants we like to frequent are mom & pops because we like to support our local economy, so I have to do a lot of "guesstimating."
  • GretaGirl8
    GretaGirl8 Posts: 274 Member
    I am on the fence with this one. Yes, fast food restaurants and chains that make everything supposedly standard should be able to produce nutritional info for their menu. The nature of such restaurants is uniformity. However, when you are talking about your non-chain restaurant with chefs that are constantly changing the menu for variety and to accomodate availability of fresh ingredients, etc.. i think it would be unduly burdensome (and stifle creativity) to be required to produce the nutritional information. Of course, they should definitely be able to state unequivocally ALL of the ingredients for allergies and other dietary issues. Most restaurants are pretty comfortable with modifications to your meal--so you can opt out of a sauce or have your vegetables steamed without butter, etc.
  • hirstrl
    hirstrl Posts: 157 Member
    Completely in "I could be wrong" territory here, but I thought the requirement was that for nutritional facts to be listed, the item had to be analysed by a lab and within a certain margin of error, not just worked out on paper.
    [/quote]

    Even if "worked out on paper" they put *estimated values* would be very helpful
  • gmove
    gmove Posts: 81 Member
    Research your dining choice before you arrive.
    If nutritional info. is not available, you have the right to go elsewhere.

    And producing the nutritional info. is expensive, time consuming, and for some businesses accuracy is an issue.

    Accuracy being a big reason why most restaurants include a disclaimer about the accuracy of each specifc meal for each and every customer.
  • thomregan
    thomregan Posts: 25 Member
    On the one hand, I really love having that info available, on the other hand, it's a huge pain in the *kitten* for small businesses, and I'd be surprised if the recipes would be followed closely enough for the info to remain accurate.

    If I'm going out to eat, I just try to order the healthiest thing available and estimate the calories, rounding up severely to make sure I err on the side of caution.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Expensive? it would take about 2-4 hours (depending on menu size) to sit down with a menu and go through every item and calculate the totals. Then you could print out 1 copy for each table and laminate it and it could cost less than 50 bucks.

    There is no excuse not to let your customers know whats in what they are eating.

    Completely in "I could be wrong" territory here, but I thought the requirement was that for nutritional facts to be listed, the item had to be analysed by a lab and within a certain margin of error, not just worked out on paper.

    This. Your waiter doesn't just get to go in the back and make up the calorie counts. Any law is going to have strict requirements that involve spending money.
  • jdb3388
    jdb3388 Posts: 239 Member
    Seriously? You are attacking THIS of all things? The government regulates MANY things, including spending a half a trillion dollars on welfare and PROMOTING it through advertisement, and you are attacking my suggestion to mandate that all food have nutrition facts listed on it? alright then...

    Moving right along. When food is packaged and distributed it has to be lab tested for nutritional value. When it is a matter of assembling a meal out of items that have been lab tested for nutritional value you do not have to re-test them, you just have to add them up.
  • afortunatedragon
    afortunatedragon Posts: 329 Member
    Which will ends up in more and more restaurants will not cook fresh anymore but use ready prepared and labeled ingredients.
    Absolutely a big NO here.
    Find restaurants you trust to cook fresh and ask the cook what is in the meal. If he can't answer immediately, don't go there anymore.
    Don't really get the problem
  • hirstrl
    hirstrl Posts: 157 Member
    Moving right along. When food is packaged and distributed it has to be lab tested for nutritional value. When it is a matter of assembling a meal out of items that have been lab tested for nutritional value you do not have to re-test them, you just have to add them up.[/quote]

    agree
  • nancy10272004
    nancy10272004 Posts: 277 Member
    Expensive? it would take about 2-4 hours (depending on menu size) to sit down with a menu and go through every item and calculate the totals. Then you could print out 1 copy for each table and laminate it and it could cost less than 50 bucks.

    There is no excuse not to let your customers know whats in what they are eating.

    2-4 hours? My brother is a chef and it would take him days to get this information together. It still wouldn't be very useful because he works at an upscale restaurant and they don't follow recipes. They don't weigh and measure (except for meat and fish cuts). Plus, what about daily specials that my brother makes up on the spot? Is he supposed to not offer them because of a law?

    It's just not feasible. If you don't want your fish cooked in a stick of butter, don't go to Le Bernardin.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Seriously? You are attacking THIS of all things? The government regulates MANY things, including spending a half a trillion dollars on welfare and PROMOTING it through advertisement, and you are attacking my suggestion to mandate that all food have nutrition facts listed on it? alright then...

    Moving right along. When food is packaged and distributed it has to be lab tested for nutritional value. When it is a matter of assembling a meal out of items that have been lab tested for nutritional value you do not have to re-test them, you just have to add them up.

    So the restaurants you go to don't use any fresh produce or fish etc? All use lab tested ingredients in their dishes?
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Seriously? You are attacking THIS of all things? The government regulates MANY things, including spending a half a trillion dollars on welfare and PROMOTING it through advertisement, and you are attacking my suggestion to mandate that all food have nutrition facts listed on it? alright then...

    Moving right along. When food is packaged and distributed it has to be lab tested for nutritional value. When it is a matter of assembling a meal out of items that have been lab tested for nutritional value you do not have to re-test them, you just have to add them up.

    Not attacking - I said I actually would like nutritional information and I live somewhere were it IS required for chains, bigger restaurants, etc. but I can also see where it would harm the smaller businesses because you know government (and I work for the government ).
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    On the one hand, I really love having that info available, on the other hand, it's a huge pain in the *kitten* for small businesses, and I'd be surprised if the recipes would be followed closely enough for the info to remain accurate.

    If I'm going out to eat, I just try to order the healthiest thing available and estimate the calories, rounding up severely to make sure I err on the side of caution.

    This.

    You think the chef's and cook's portion and weigh out every single ingredient? Do you have any idea how badly they would kill wait times during peak hours?

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