Calorie count laws are a type of law that require restaurants (typically only larger restaurant chains) to post food energy and nutritional information on the food served on menus. [1]
Studies of consumer behavior have shown that for some fast-food chains, consumers reduce calorie consumption but at other chains they do not. [2] In response to federal regulation in the United States, some restaurant chains have modified certain items to reduce calories, or introduced new menu items as lower-calorie alternatives. [3]
The first U.S. menu item calorie labeling law was enacted in 2008 in New York City. [4] California was the first state to enact a calorie count law, which occurred in 2009. [5] Restaurants that do not comply can be fined up to $2,000. [6]
Other localities and states have passed similar laws. [7]
Nutrition labeling requirements of the Affordable Care Act were signed into federal law in 2010, but their implementation was delayed by the FDA several times until they went into effect on May 7, 2018. [8]
In 2009, a federal appellate court rejected the New York State Restaurant Association's challenge to the city's 2007 regulation requiring most major fast-food and chain restaurants to prominently display calorie information on their menus. The rule applies to restaurants that are part of chains with at least 15 establishments doing business nationally. [9]
A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically part of a "meat-sweet diet", offered from a limited menu, cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot, finished and packaged to order, and usually available for take away, though seating may be provided. Fast-food restaurants are typically part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation that provides standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.
Food energy is chemical energy that animals derive from their food to sustain their metabolism, including their muscular activity.
Trans fat regulation, that aims to limit the amount of "trans fat" — fat containing trans fatty acids — in industrial food products, has been enacted in many countries. These regulations were motivated by numerous studies that pointed to significant negative health effects of trans fat. It is generally accepted that trans fat in the diet is a contributing factor in several diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
In the U.S. and Canada, the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) is used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products to indicate the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of healthy individuals in every demographic in the United States. While developed for the US population, it has been adopted by other countries, such as Canada.
The foodservice or catering industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, grocery stores, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many other formats.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods.
The nutrition facts label is a label required on most packaged food in many countries, showing what nutrients and other ingredients are in the food. Labels are usually based on official nutritional rating systems. Most countries also release overall nutrition guides for general educational purposes. In some cases, the guides are based on different dietary targets for various nutrients than the labels on specific foods.
Food policy is the area of public policy concerning how food is produced, processed, distributed, purchased, or provided. Food policies are designed to influence the operation of the food and agriculture system balanced with ensuring human health needs. This often includes decision-making around production and processing techniques, marketing, availability, utilization, and consumption of food, in the interest of meeting or furthering social objectives. Food policy can be promulgated on any level, from local to global, and by a government agency, business, or organization. Food policymakers engage in activities such as regulation of food-related industries, establishing eligibility standards for food assistance programs for the poor, ensuring safety of the food supply, food labeling, and even the qualifications of a product to be considered organic.
The BK Stacker sandwiches are a family of cheeseburgers sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King.
The kids' meal or children's meal is a fast food combination meal tailored to and marketed to children. Most kids' meals come in colorful bags or cardboard boxes with depictions of activities/games on the bag or box and a toy inside. Most standard kids' meals comprise a burger or chicken nuggets, a side item, and a soft drink.
New York State Restaurant Association v. New York City Board of Health is a case decided by the Second Circuit United States Court of Appeals. The case arose after New York City passed a law in January 2007 to become the first American city to require restaurant chains to state the number of calories in everything on their menus. The New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) sued, arguing infringement of commercial freedom of speech under the First Amendment. The NYSRA also argued that the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990 and FDA regulations preempted New York's calorie posting regulation. The Second Circuit rejected all of the Restaurant Association's claims and upheld the New York City law. Congressman Henry Waxman, who was the NLEA's chief sponsor, joined an amicus brief in support of New York City's position and was represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group.
The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) is a 1990 United States Federal law. It was signed into law on November 8, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush.
Nutrition analysis refers to the process of determining the nutritional content of foods and food products. The process can be performed through a variety of certified methods.
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011. The FSMA has given the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority to regulate the way foods are grown, harvested and processed. The law grants the FDA a number of new powers, including mandatory recall authority, which the agency had sought for many years. The FSMA requires the FDA to undertake more than a dozen rulemakings and issue at least 10 guidance documents, as well as a host of reports, plans, strategies, standards, notices, and other tasks.
Criticism of fast food includes claims of negative health effects, animal cruelty, cases of worker exploitation, children-targeted marketing and claims of cultural degradation via shifts in people's eating patterns away from traditional foods. Fast food chains have come under fire from consumer groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a longtime fast food critic over issues such as caloric content, trans fats and portion sizes. Social scientists have highlighted how the prominence of fast food narratives in popular urban legends suggests that modern consumers have an ambivalent relationship with fast food, particularly in relation to children.
Critics and competitors of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), notably the sugar industry, have for many years used various public relations campaigns to claim the sweetener causes certain health conditions, despite the lack of scientific evidence that HFCS differs nutritionally from sugar. The HFCS industry has tried to respond to these campaigns with their own efforts.
Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that standard menu items at qualifying chain restaurants and vending machines have proper nutrition labeling. Though the Affordable Care Act was signed into federal law in 2010, implementation of the menu labeling requirements was delayed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration several times until they went into effect on May 7, 2018.
A combination meal, often referred as a combo-meal, is a type of meal that typically includes food items and a beverage. They are a common menu item at fast food restaurants, and other restaurants also purvey them. Combination meals may be priced lower compared to ordering items separately, but this is not always the case. A combination meal is also a meal in which the consumer orders items à la carte to create their own meal combination.
Trans fat, also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids, or trans fatty acids, is a type of unsaturated fat that occurs in foods. Trace concentrations of trans fats occur naturally, but large amounts are found in some processed foods. Since consumption of trans fats is unhealthy, artificial trans fats are highly regulated or banned in many nations. However, they are still widely consumed in developing nations, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) had set a goal to make the world free from industrially produced trans fat by the end of 2023. The goal was not met, and the WHO announced another goal "for accelerated action till 2025 to complete this effort" along with associated support on 1 February 2024.