Restaurant nutrition labeling

Restaurant nutrition labeling involves voluntary or government mandated provision of nutrition and portion size information by restaurants and other food outlets. Nutrition information is typically included on restaurant menus, as well as on menu boards, signs, and posters, and is sometimes accompanied by contextual information such as recommended daily calories for adults or interpretive information such as exercise equivalent labels or traffic light labels¹. Some local governments cannot enact such measures due to state and federal preemption legislation².

• Increased awareness of calories purchased

• Reduced calories purchased

• Reduced caloric intake

• Reduced food portion sizes

There is some evidence that providing nutrition information on restaurant menus and signboards increases awareness of calories purchased and reduces calories purchased³, especially when labels include contextual or interpretive information for consumers¹ and are easily visible⁴. Additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.

Starbucks locations realized a sustained overall decrease in calories purchased after adding nutrition labels⁵. In New York City, labeling was associated with reduced calories purchased at McDonalds, Au Bon Pain, and KFC, although not in the city as a whole⁶. Studies from Seattle King County and on early New York City data showed reductions in calorie intake among some customers^{6, 7, 8}, but no overall reduction in consumption^{6, 9, 10, 11, 12}.

Some studies suggest that calorie labels only lead to behavior change when they include contextual or interpretive language for consumers¹. Promotional messages used in conjunction with calorie labels may increase their effectiveness¹³. Calorie labels that include a symbol (e.g., a traffic light image) can further reduce calories ordered¹⁴.

Women, individuals with higher education, and individuals with higher incomes are more influenced by nutrition labels than men or individuals with less education or lower incomes^{5, 15, 16}. Young adults may be particularly receptive to calorie labels, especially on alcoholic drinks and catered food items⁴. Larger effects are also common among individuals who previously made higher calorie purchases⁵.

Menu labeling laws can affect businesses’ behavior. Several chains reformulated specific menu items or default ingredients following implementation of the New York City law⁶. Nutrient analysis performed in a voluntary pilot labeling program at non-chain restaurants in Pierce County, WA (near Seattle) led owners to modify, drop, or add menu items⁷. 

Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) requires restaurants and similar retail food establishments with 20 or more locations to list calorie content information for standard menu items on restaurant menus and menu boards, including drive-through menu boards¹⁷. This federal legislation preempts state and local authority over menu labeling for affected restaurants².

Some cities and states have also adopted local requirements for restaurant nutrition labeling: New York City, King County (WA), and San Francisco require chain restaurants to post calorie counts on menu boards. As of April 2011, California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont have passed state labeling policies^{18, 19}.

Eight states (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, Utah, and Wisconsin) have preemption legislation that prevents local communities from adopting regulations for restaurants that are more restrictive than state laws for posting calorie information, offering toys in children’s meals, and regulating nutritional value or content of restaurant food².