April 7, 2008
Calorie Info Law Could Be Junked Over Dubious Study
A law that would require city restaurants with more than 15 locations nationwide to prominently display calorie information was supposed to go into effect last week, but a lawsuit brought by the restaurant industry has it choked up in court. Restaurateurs say the rules would violate their First Amendment right to say whatever they want on their menus, while the city points to a Health Department study suggesting diners choose healthier food when forced to acknowledge that their Big Mac cheeseburger is loaded with 43.7 grams of fat.
But it’s that very study that could sink the new law. Lawyers for the industry are arguing that the deputy commissioner of the Health Department, Mary Bassett, tried to enlist colleagues who favor the law to conduct a peer review of the study, a process that is supposed to take place anonymously. Ultimately, Dr. Bassett’s colleagues declined to review the study, which primarily surveyed diners at Subway, the only fast-food eatery voluntarily displaying calorie info at the time.
Dr. Bassett was trying to get the study published before the anticipated lawsuit, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s journal refused it, calling the conclusions “problematic” because Subway attracts more dieting diners than other fast-food restaurants, yielding survey results that do not represent fast-food diners as a whole. Lawyers for the New York State Restaurant Association have obtained emails between the Health Department and the CDC that could prove problematic for the city because the case hinges on the study’s validity; a ruling is expected sometime this month.
Photo: Troy and Naomi
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Who cares about the stupid study? If calorie info can be provided it's good information for everyone.
BTW, Gothamist, calories & fat are two different things. Fat in your food doesn't become fat on the body. it's the calories that do.
i noticed last week at chipotle that they have the calorie information on display.
You don't have the right to say anything you want on your menus.
Nimrods.
My problem is still with the 15 locations nationwide. How will this be determined, supervised and enforced? I mean there wont there be like 4 Palm restaurants in Manhattan soon?
And, if the menus change, say seasonally, will updated information need to be disclosed before the new menu goes into effect or will the venue get a grace period for testing?
Can't they just put FATTENING on top of the whole menu? Or shouldnt this be common knowledge by now.
Restaurateurs say the rules would violate their First Amendment right to say whatever they want on their menus
That's the silliest thing I've heard in a while. What about manufacturers of packaged food? They have to put detailed nutritional information on all their labels, yet none of them are suing the FDA.
That said, I don't think the law would help much anyway. Most people will always eat what they like, fat and calories be damned.
Eat 3000 calories of mostly sugar and starch and you will get fat. Eat 3000 calories of mostly protein and fat and you won't. So it's not just about calories either. Humans don't process these things in the same way. And given the misinformation against eating fat, you will actually confuse people into eating the wrong things. Fat is not fattening and doesn't cause heart disease. These are the biggest myths of all.
That statue would scare me enough to keep me the F*ck out a Mc Donalds. That much I can tell you.
Creep-O-Rama.
Articles are often rejected and revised repeatedly before publication. This is not a sign of shoddy research. Nor is it foul play for an author to recommend potential reviewers to a journal editor. The editor selects reviewers according to their qualifications and availability. The author rarely knows who they are. In submitting its work for peer review, the New York City Health Department sought the highest standard of scientific rigor and followed accepted protocols. We are delighted that the process led to revisions and the ultimate acceptance of our findings.
Mary T. Bassett, MD
Deputy Commissioner
New York City Health Department