Food News: Calorie Counts and Carbohydrate Claims

Survey shows consumers do let calorie counts influence their decisionsTechnomic found that 86 percent of New York City restaurant-goers were surprised by the calorie count information now listed on menus or menu boards, with 90 percent of them claiming that the calorie count was higher than expected. As a consequence, 82 percent say that calorie disclosure is affecting what they order and 60 percent say it is affecting where they visit. FMI visit technomic.com We were pleased to find that other states are requiring nutrition reporting including: California, Maryland, Pennsylvanie, Indiana, Florida, South Carolina, Seattle, and West Virginia.FDA conducts research on claimsThe FDA completed a study of consumer reaction to foods with a low carbohydrate claim. Their analysis showed that without the Nutrition Facts label available, respondents who saw claims that imply "low in carbohydrate" on the front of food packages had some positive associations with these products that may or may not be accurate. When the Nutrition Facts label was available side-by side with the front panel, respondents made appropriate product judgments when evaluating products with claims that imply either fewer or more carbohydrates. You can read the full results here: fda.gov.