Have you ever ordered a meal from a food delivery app and wondered about the calorie content of your favorite dishes?
A recent study reveals that many restaurants fail to provide calorie counts when customers use these apps to order food.
This poses a problem because there is a law requiring prominent chain restaurants to display calorie information on their menus.
To delve into this issue, a team of researchers from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Tufts University, and New York University conducted a comprehensive examination.
They scrutinized the menus of the top 75 restaurant chains in four U.S. cities. Specifically, they focused on the first three food items and the first three beverage choices listed on each menu to determine whether calorie counts were readily available.
Findings: Calories Concealed
The study uncovered that only 60% of the menus on the restaurants’ official websites or apps provided calorie information for every item investigated. In the case of third-party food delivery apps, even fewer menus included calorie counts.
Some positive news emerged from the study, as four popular restaurant chains furnished calorie information for every item across all online platforms.
However, four other popular chains did not offer any calorie information at all when customers selected items from the online menu.
Why It Matters: The Legal Requirement and COVID-19 Impact
The significance of this issue lies in a 2010 law mandating that prominent restaurant chains display calorie counts on their menus.
This regulation aims to inform people about the nutritional content of their meals, whether they are dining in person or ordering online.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), responsible for enforcing this law, temporarily halted its monitoring efforts in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, they plan to resume their checks in November 2023. Restaurants failing to comply with this rule may face consequences.
It’s worth noting that the FDA has previously stated that third-party apps like DoorDash are not responsible for displaying calorie information.
Researcher Insights and Call for Change
The study’s authors argue that restaurants can easily provide this information when uploading their menus to these apps. They believe the FDA should ensure that restaurants adhere to this practice.
Eva Greenthal, a contributor to the study, emphasizes the importance of restaurants helping customers make informed choices by displaying calorie counts, especially with the increasing trend of online food ordering.
Another researcher, Sean Cash, points out that the rules should adapt to the evolving landscape of food ordering.
He asserts that knowing calorie counts can empower people to make healthier food choices, regardless of where they encounter the menu.
Conclusion: A Plea for Clearer Rules
The next time you peruse a food delivery app, consider whether you have a clear picture of the calorie content in your chosen meal.
The researchers assert that calorie information should be readily available and are advocating for more explicit regulations to ensure customers have the data they need to make health-conscious choices.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and vitamin D supplements strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about plant nutrient that could help reduce high blood pressure, and these antioxidants could help reduce dementia risk.
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