The Future of Menu Marketing

Comprehensive menu labeling would allow Americans to exercise more personal responsibility and make better-informed dietary choices. At least that’s the message groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Washington, D.C., have been striving to convey.

And, more and more, the food industry has been listening.

“We are going to be forced to provide the nutrition information of foods on menus, so let’s get with the program,” says Mark Crowell, CRC, principal culinologist, CuliNex, Bainbridge Island, WA. “Let’s see what we can do to make our menus more nutritionally responsible without giving up taste.”

The argument for menu labeling is strong. “It’s no secret that America faces a health crisis,” says Jill Le Brasseur, communications specialist, Produce for Better Health Foundation, Wilmington, DE. “The obesity epidemic, the rising tide of diabetes, the incidence of heart disease and other chronic diseases make it imperative that Americans begin to eat more healthfully.”

And, whether we like it or not, legislation along these lines is currently simmering. “The fact that there are now two bills in Congress proposing restaurant menu labeling, the LEAN Act and the MEAL Act, demonstrates how important the issue of helping consumers eat more healthfully in restaurants is to health experts and the public alike,” says Hope Warshaw, R.D., author of “Eat Out, Eat Right” and “Guide to Healthy Restaurant Eating.”

The Labeling Education and Nutrition (LEAN) Act proposes a uniform national standard requiring foodservice chains with 20 or more locations to disclose, in the restaurant, detailed nutrition information in writing, including calories, sodium, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, sugar and protein. It’s based upon the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), enacted almost two decades ago, which provides consumers with nutrition information on packaged foods and beverages.

For the LEAN Act, nutrition information would be calculated following a “reasonable basis” approach identified by FDA, allowing for any variation in portion size and formulation that may be expected in restaurant settings.