Required Menu Labeling

One topic we have heard alot about recently across the country is mandated menu labeling. Within the past week, Delaware became the most recent state to require restaurants to include nutritional labeling on their menu. This new law is required of all restaurant chains which have 20 or more locations in the country to provide nutritional labelling. There are some exceptions to items requiring labelling, such as daily specials along with others, but labelling must be easily seen. Required on the menu is the number of calories in each meal. Other nutritional information must be available if asked for. I think these laws are a good move. I don't think they will end up hurting the restaurant industry. While there may be many people who are so consumed with the number of calories they consume, there are many more people who these numbers will not bother. I think that one of the major contributing factor to the obesity and health crisis in our country is the lack of information. Most of the population has no idea as to a relative amount of calories that could be in a meal. By providing the amount of calories, it gives these diners the opportunity to become more informed and chose items that can be healthier for them.

Gluten-free diets gaining in populatiry

The USA Today had an article called Gluten-free diets gaining in popularity. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It causes some people serious health problems. But people with celiac disease, the best-defined and most severe form of gluten intolerance, don't seem to be the only ones buying the gluten-free beer and brownies. Marketers estimate that 15% to 25% of consumers want gluten-free foods- though doctors estimate just 1% have celiac disease says Cynthia Kupper, the executive Director of the non-profit Gluten Intolerance Group of North America. Dee Sandquist, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for ADA, says Gluten Free Diets are catching on a colleges. Both of the woman above believe this is a fad. People feel better about eating without gluten because they consume fewer fast and processed foods, which tend to have gluten. The trend has produced more gluten-free versions of foods the truly intolerant would have to give up. There are also disadvantages, you are shorting yourself on vitamins, the foods are expensive, and if the diet is poorly planned it can be fattening.
The Restaurant I work has a pretty big gluten free menu, which attracts alot of people. They are the same exact items on the regular menu just modifiers the servers have to put in. I have eaten gluten-free products at work but not because I wanted to use this as a new diet. I don't like croutons on my salad and I don't usually use the house vinaigrette or caesar dressing so my salad is then gluten free, for example. I also usually don't get butter on my vegetables because they use an excessive amount. In the portioned vegetable butter is vegetable seasoning which is not gluten-free. I'm sure I have consumed alot more gluten-free items also but never intentionally.
Have you tried gluten-free products? If so, why?

Salt Crackdown

In the article Restaurant Chef's Boiling over NYC Mayor's Salt Crackdown it brings up a major health concern that seems to get pushed to the back burner. Compared to other health concerns such as obesity, fats and calories, sodium intake seems to be ignored slightly. People seem to forget how serious of a health issue sodium can cause. In the article, it discusses some of the benefits that humans recieve from having some salt in their diet, such as maintaining the composition of blood cells. However, too much sodium is much more dangerous and most people consume much higher levels of sodium than suggested by the government for your health.
The restaurants don't seem to have too much compassion towards that issue though. The restauranteurs fear that by limiting and controlling the amount of salt they are allowed to use, it could severly affect the foods they are producing. Salt is one of the major seasonings used in almost any restaurant. And without salt, it is very difficult to achieve the desired taste for a meal.
One chef quoted in the article said that he was supportive of improving the health of New Yorkers but did not approve of being told how much salt he could use in his dishes. However, if this is how the chefs feel about salt, why would it change about anything else? Were the same arguments made when the law about transfats was made? I feel as though the obesity and health issue is so out of control in the United States, that some regulating laws need to be put into place. As I mentioned in the beginning of my comment, I think most people forget how serious of a concern sodium can be. And if people cannot realize that for themselves, should it be ok for the government to step in and control it?

Anthony's Post

This post is from Anthony, he is having issues signing in, so I had him email it to me, and I posted his article.....I don't know how he will comment on the other blog postings yet....

Article: href="http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/print/index.cfm?ID=1746">

The nation has now put a site together to tell people which restaurants are more healthy for people to eat at. The object is to make a centralize site where people can go to figure out if the restaurants they go to are a smart choice for their health. The biggest site to tell people about where to get a nutritionally sound meal is healthy dinning finder .com.

The website focuses on healthy menu items and how people can mark a smart choice for dinner. It shows cases what restaurants are doing to deal with the more nutritional savvy diners of today. It also brings these ideas to a convenient format online which in America people are always on the run and on the computer it makes it easier for them to access such choices.

The website organizes the website with custom website for the participating restaurants along with a blog so the restaurants and costumers can react to anything about the site. Also there is a part where you can spread the word along with a free news letter.

I believe this is a great way for people to find out about healthy restaurant choices. People are always on the computer it is a great way for you to find out about healthy lunch or dinner choices. It also is very useful so people can get dinner ideas and for restaurants can figure out how to stay with the times of what is going on in this industry.

Consumer Diet Plans in Restaurants

After the new year, there seems to be so many people making the resolution to lose weight, so the best thing for any restaurant to do is to follow customer demand, and to give the customer a diet-friendly option to make them money, and set them apart from other restaurants.

In the article by Lisa Jennings, Restaurants Look For A Place In Customers' Diet Plans, she discusses how many chains are reaching out to the health-conscious consumer and providing them with many diet friendly options. Chains, such as Starbucks, Applebee's, Dunkin Donuts, Panera, and KFC are all promoting different options for the health-conscious consumer by offering new, low-calorie options.

The new lower calorie options has started restaurants menu labeling to make the calorie content of the items more apparent to the consumers. As people begin to become more health conscious, they often start by counting calories. Restaurants have realized this, and put their calorie information right on their menus. This also has started a health-trend in the food restaurants are providing, since lower calories are obviously more consumer friendly.

Many people give up on their resolutions, since they can't eat the foods that they love. With this new option, they can make better choices in consuming healthier foods. Some of these places are even using the networking sites like twitter to have customers respond to questions on nutrition and exercise to have a chance to win meals at their restaurant.

Although fine dining restaurants have not been so quick to jump on the calorie labeled menu trend, these types of restaurants can still be a part of the more health-focused trend by adding nutrition information availably, but not listed on the menu. Menus could contain a disclaimer that would show information was available. Making this change will not only give diners more options at each restaurant, it could also attract diners who would not eat at a fine dining restaurant, to one.

Also, restaurants in the fine dining segment could get on the technology aspect of this trend. They could offer discounts on their website, or create a twitter or other social networking site to gain involvement. They could also ask questions and give nutritional feedback on these websites.

Although this article is written about quick-service, the ideas that it describes can be beneficial to fine-dining restaurants. If utilized correctly, it could help with the obesity problem in America, as well as add to the fine dining restaurants profits.

Post 1: Diners eat fewer calories when menu lists entrees' contents

In the article Diners eat fewer calories when menu lists entrees' contents, it talks about the different outcomes of what consumers eat if the calories are listed on the menu. The article says that people eat far less at dinner and afterward if the calories are listed on the menu along with how many calories they should consume in one day. Researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obestity at Yale University recruited 303 adults and invited them to dinner with a wide variety of menu options. The adults were divided into 3 groups. 1 group had just a regular menu with no listings, the 2nd group had a menu with just the calories listed, and the 3rd group had a menu with the calories of all options and the recommended daily amount of calories, about 2000. The diners who saw the calorie label and the 2000-calorie reference consumed the least amount. They ate about 1,380 calories at dinner and afterward. That compares to with about 1,630 calories for the other 2 groups. Christina Roberto a researcher for the Rudd Center says that the calories saved from one meal would add up over time and have substantial effects on people's weight over the course of a year. Director of the Rudd Center, Kelly Brownell, says it's "crystal clear" that menus should include calorie labels plus 2,000 calorie reference number to make it easier for consumers to make healthier choices.

I don't go out to eat very often so when I do it is usually for a special occassion or just a treat every once in awhile. When I go out to eat I don't want my meal choices based on numbers I see. Also the portion sizes are large for me that I usually end up bringing leftovers home. If an entree has a high calorie count but it is something I want to get I would still get it and eat a portion of it and bring the rest home for the next day. In that case all those calories aren't being consumed in one day. I work at Outback Steakhouse where our Aussie Cheese Fries have been named the #1 worst food for you. With something like 5,000 calories in one order it is still one of our most popular apps. Our customers are aware of this also and some people watching their health say that they are treating themselves or they love them so much they don't really care.