Calorie count laws
{{Short description|Food law}}
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.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2937279320080430|title=NYC calorie-count rule effective immediately: court|date=Apr 30, 2008|publisher=Reuters|access-date=26 February 2010|location=New York}}
Studies of consumer behavior have shown that for some fast-food chains, consumers reduce calorie consumption but at other chains they do not.{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/07/21/study-menu-calorie-counts-don-impact-choices-for-mcdonald-eaters/Mjl2LH6L4LAPAH3yQoh1rJ/story.html |title=Study: menu calorie counts don't impact choices for McDonald's eaters - Health & wellness |publisher=The Boston Globe|date=2013-07-22 |access-date=2014-06-21}} 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.{{cite web |title=FDA Delays Calorie Labeling Rule Until Next Year |website=NPR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417202103/https://www.npr.org/2017/05/02/526514189/fda-delays-calorie-labeling-rule-until-next-year |archive-date=2023-04-17 |url-status=live |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/05/02/526514189/fda-delays-calorie-labeling-rule-until-next-year}}
United States
The first U.S. menu item calorie labeling law was enacted in 2008 in New York City.{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25464987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420193424/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25464987/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 20, 2013|title=New Yorkers try to swallow calorie sticker shock|last=Rabin|first=Roni Caryn|date=July 16, 2008|work=NBC News|access-date=26 February 2010}} California was the first state to enact a calorie count law, which occurred in 2009.{{cite news|last1=McGreevy|first1=Pat|title=State to require calorie counts|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-sep-30-me-arnold30-story.html|access-date=18 December 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=30 September 2008}} Restaurants that do not comply can be fined up to $2,000.{{cite web | url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/cdp/calorie_compliance_guide.pdf | title=The Requirement to Post Calorie Counts on Menus In New York City Food Service Establishments (Section 81.50 of the New York City Health Code) | publisher=The Official Website of the City of New York | access-date=June 21, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610210839/http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/cdp/calorie_compliance_guide.pdf | archive-date=2014-06-10 | url-status=dead }}
Other localities and states have passed similar laws.{{cite web|url=http://www.cspinet.org/menulabeling/|title=Menu Labeling|publisher=Center for Science in the Public Interest|access-date=26 February 2010}}
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.[https://wreg.com/2018/05/07/affordable-care-acts-calorie-count-rules-go-into-effect/ Affordable Care Act's calorie count rules go into effect]
Australia
In 2011, the council of Australian governments and the forum on food regulation (formerly known as the Australia and New Zealand food regulation ministerial council) released the Labeling Logic report, recommending the mandatory display of the energy content of standardized food items on menus in chain food service outlets and vending machines.[https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/441564/fastchoices-userguide.pdf ”Fast Choices: kilojoule menu labelling scheme (October 2017)”]. Queensland Health. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
Between 2011 and 2018, mandatory menu labeling, especially for displaying nutritional information at the point of sale in standard food outlets, was introduced by five Australian jurisdictions (New South Wales,[https://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/about-us/science/evaluating-what-we-do/kJ-information-menu-labelling#:~:text=In%20November%202010%2C%20the%20NSW,and%20obesity%20in%20the%20community. “kJ information (menu labelling)”]. NSW Government food authority. Retrieved 13 March 2025 South Australia,{{Cite web |last=AGLSTERMS. Department for Health and Wellbeing; 11 Hindmarsh Square |first=Adelaide |title=Composition and labelling of food |url=https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/public+health/food+safety+for+businesses/composition+and+labelling+of+food/composition+and+labelling+of+food#:~:text=Labelling%20of%20kilojoule%20information%20in%20chain%20food%20outlets&text=The%20information%20that%20needs%20to,daily%20intake%20is%208,700%20kJ' |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.sahealth.sa.gov.au}} Australian Capital Territory,{{Cite web |last=Government |first=A. C. T. |date=2024-04-08 |title=Displaying kilojoule content of food |url=https://www.act.gov.au/health/businesses/food-safety-for-businesses/compliance-and-food-safety/displaying-kilojoule-content-of-food#:~:text=The%20Food%20Act%202001%20requires,choices%20when%20purchasing%20food%20items. |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=ACT Government |language=en}} Queensland, and Victoria{{Cite web |last=Department of Health. Victoria |first=Australia |title=Kilojoule labelling scheme for large chain food businesses and supermarkets |url=https://www.health.vic.gov.au/food-safety/kilojoule-labelling-scheme-for-large-chain-food-businesses-and-supermarkets |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.health.vic.gov.au |language=en}}) with some variation in implementation.[https://www.foodregulation.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-09/policy-guideline-on-menu-labelling.pdf “ POLICY GUIDELINE ON MENU LABELLING: DISPLAYING AND PROVIDING ENERGY INFORMATION FOR STANDARD FOOD ITEMS ON MENUS AND AT THE POINT-OF-SALE IN STANDARD FOOD OUTLETS (25 November 2022)”]. Ministerial policy guideline. Retrieved 13 March 2025
Legal challenges
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.{{cite news | title = Court upholds city's nutritional menu board rule| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/nyregion/18calorie.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion| work = New York Times| date = 2009-02-17 | access-date = 2009-02-20 | first=Sewell | last=Chan}}