Re: Calorie-Counting Rule to Leave Out Movie Theaters

[Guest guest]

Agree!

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 2, 2011, at 10:08 AM, Raphaela Rozanski

wrote:

> again, legislation turns into a joke. lots of money to be made with

> this

> legislation but not by RDs and not to the benefit of delivering

> effective

> health care. Raphaela Rozanski, MS, RD, LDN

>

>

>

>> Movie theaters don’t hesitate to wag a stern finger at their patro

>> ns:

>> *Shhh!

>> * Turn off your cellphone. Don’t talk during the movie.

>>

>> But don’t ask them to tell you how many calories are in that jumbo

>> tub of

>> popcorn.

>>

>> The federal government on Friday released proposed rules requiring

>> chain

>> restaurants and other businesses that serve food to post calorie

>> counts on

>> menus and menu boards. But after objections from theater chains,

>> the rules

>> give a pass to those box-office snacks — even though a large popco

>> rn and

>> soda can contain as many calories as a typical person needs in a day.

>>

>> The new disclosure rules also exempt alcoholic beverages served in

>> restaurants, including beer, wine and high-calorie mixed drinks like

>> margaritas and daiquiris.

>>

>> The Food and Drug Administration said it would accept consumer and

>> industry

>> feedback on the rules before finishing them, hopefully by the end

>> of this

>> year. They are expected to go into effect some time next year, said

>>

>> R. , deputy commissioner for foods at the F.D.A.

>>

>> “This is a really important and positive step in providing consum

>> ers

>> information that they can use to choose healthy diets and fight

>> obesity<

>>

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/morbid-obesity/overview.html?in\

line=nyt-classifier

>>> ,â€

>> Mr. said.

>>

>> The health care overhaul law passed last year included a provision

>> that

>> required chain restaurants and similar establishments that served

>> food at

>> 20

>> or more locations to display calorie counts for menu items.

>>

>> The proposed new rules, which would spell out how the law would be

>> applied,

>> would take the place of a grab bag of menu-labeling laws that

>> already exist

>> around the country, including in New York City and California. The

>> restaurant industry supported a federal labeling rule so that it

>> would not

>> have to comply with a range of different regulations.

>>

>> A preliminary F.D.A. document on the rules released last summer

>> would have

>> included movie theaters.

>>

>> But Mr. said officials decided to write the rules so that

>> they would

>> apply only to establishments whose primary purpose was to sell food

>> or

>> where

>> at least half the floor space was dedicated to food sales.

>>

>> “The thinking has absolutely evolved based on comments we’ve

>> gotten from a

>> number of quarters,†Mr. said. “This is a different

>> drawing of the

>> circle of what is covered by this law.â€

>>

>> Under the change, the law also would not apply to bowling alleys,

>> carnivals,

>> airplanes and other establishments where the primary purpose was

>> not the

>> sale of food.

>>

>> But it would cover convenience stores and supermarkets that offer

>> ready-to-eat items like hot dogs, deli sandwiches or rotisserie

>> chicken, as

>> long as they were part of a chain of sufficient size. In such

>> establishments

>> and in restaurants, each item on a salad bar would have to be

>> labeled to

>> show how many calories were in a serving.

>>

>> Mr. said the rules would not cover alcohol sold in restaurants

>> because the F.D.A. did not have jurisdiction to regulate alcohol.

>>

>> In a separate proceeding, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade

>> Bureau is

>> considering whether to require nutritional information on the

>> labels of

>> alcoholic beverages.

>>

>> Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy of the Center for

>> Science in

>> the Public Interest<

>>

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/center_for_s\

cience_in_the_public_interest/index.html?inline=nyt-org

>>> ,

>> said leaving out movie theaters from the new rules was a mistake.

>>

>> “It doesn’t matter whether you happen to be watching a movie

>> while you’re

>> eating,†Ms. Wootan said. “Those calories still count.â€

>>

>> The center, an advocacy group, has issued reports showing that at

>> some

>> theaters, a large tub of popcorn with butter topping can contain

>> nearly

>> 1,500 calories. A large soda can contain 500 calories. Federal

>> dietary

>> guidelines say that the average person needs about 2,000 calories a

>> day.

>> However, Ms. Wootan said that over all, calorie labeling on menus

>> would

>> help

>> people make healthier choices when they go out to eat, and she was

>> pleased

>> to see that the F.D.A. was moving relatively quickly to put the

>> rules in

>> place.

>>

>> The F.D.A. also issued proposed rules for calorie labeling on vending

>> machines, which was also required by the health care law. Under the

>> rules,

>> vending machine operators with 20 or more machines would have to

>> post the

>> calorie content of items they sell.

>>

>> The National Association of Theater Owners, a trade group, had

>> called for

>> movie theaters to be exempt from the menu labeling law. On its Web

>> site,

>> the

>> group said that movies were “escapist entertainment†and that

>> moviegoers

>> did

>> not go there with the intent of eating a meal. A representative of

>> the

>> group

>> could not be reached on Friday.

>>

>> The federal rules would take the place of local or state laws for

>> chain

>> restaurants and other establishments covered by the federal

>> regulations.

>> But

>> local governments would be free to create laws for establishments

>> that were

>> left outside the federal rules. New York City’s labeling law alre

>> ady

>> requires movie theater chains to post calorie information. It also

>> requires

>> calorie labeling for alcoholic beverages listed on menus at

>> restaurant

>> chains.

>> LINK<

>>

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/02/business/02menu.html?_r=1 & nl=todaysheadlines & e\

mc=tha25

>>>

>> --

>> Ortiz, MS, RD

>> *The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

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