Chain restaurants will likely soon be required to post complete calorie information for nearly every item they offer, including alcohol.
Chain restaurants will likely soon be required to post complete calorie information for nearly every item they offer, including alcohol. The fact that alcohol was included in the new guidelines, expected to be released by the FDA, makes health advocates happy. Alcohol is an astonishing number five on the list of top calorie sources for adults.
The guidelines are expected to apply to not only chain restaurants, but grocery stores and even vending machines. It's not too far fetched to believe that online retailers and even monthly programs that offer food (like beef jerkey or popcorn) will be required to do the same in the near future, if they aren't doing so already.
The new changes won't soar through, going into effect without any challenges though. Most of the larger chain restaurants don't mind the change and many are even all for it. On the other hand though, many smaller mom-and-pop type restaurants and convenience stores aren't so happy about it. Liquor stores and movie theaters are expected to not happily go along with it either. Sales of a tub of popcorn could quickly dwindle with those facts glaring at you from the counter.
While limited information will be have to be openly displayed, complete nutritional information will be required to be provided if a customer asks for it. The changes will likely require the food industry to invest $315 million investment to initially implement, with each establishment spending roughly $1,000 to implement.