Calorie details for all fast food items

 

Calorie details for all fast food items

Does the pizza or the burger at your favourite restaurant make you fret about its calorie count? Worry not, for the government will soon step in and take care of your nutrition.

The health ministry has proposed to make nutritional labelling mandatory for fast food served at restaurants. All home-delivered food may also carry information about calorie, protein and fat content.

According to the proposal, food served at fast food outlets will have to carry details about protein, fat, carbohydrate and energy contents. Besides, the claims will have to be quantified. Suprisingly, fast food players are not perturbed and feel it's a positive step. "We are completely in favour of this policy and welcome it with open arms. This will ensure that our customers can make informed choices for themselves as well as their families," says Vikram Bakshi, MD, McDonalds India (North and East).

If the proposal comes into effect, restaurants, big and small, will also have to figure out feasible ways of displaying calorie count of all the items they offer, which can prove to be a tedious process. "Any step that leads to transparency is good. Globally, it has been seen that a mention of calorie count on the menu does not have a big impact on consumer behaviour. So, the step won't really impact branded players who are not in the 'factory production of food' set up. But it remains to be seen how the mom and pop stores tackle it," says Unnat Varma, director-marketing, KFC, Yum! Restuarants. He also points out that it's not feasible for a restaurant to have the calorie count for every product, especially for those which have elaborate menus.

In New York, the state health department has already made it mandatory for restaurants to post a calorie count on menus. Shortly, chain restaurants have to post the calorie count of a food item alongside the price, failing which, restaurant owners would be liable to pay a fine of $2,000. The new law is part of the fight against obesity backed by mayor Michael Bloomberg. Though US government recommendations suggest a 2,000-calories-a-day diet for adults, a Big Mac, fries and soda -- the usual lunch for many Americans -- contains 1,130 calories.

Source: The Financial Express