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Availability of Nutrition Information on Menus at Major Chain Table-Service Restaurants
... Moreover, the gastronomy sector has begun to play an important role in the realisation of nutrition policy [24] by shaping consumers' nutritional habits. This in turn is what determines the necessity to pay particular attention to the nutritive aspect of meals served by eating out establishments [14]. ...
... The information may be placed on trays, in folders, menu cards or menu boards [1]. Providing nutritional information of meals served in gastronomy establishments is a more frequent practice [14,16,40,41]. ...
Background. Providing nutritional information in catering establishments in Poland, it is not mandatory, at the same time
this type of information may affect the attitudes and behavior of consumers.
Objective. The purpose of this research was to define the influence of nutritional information upon customer attitude and
behaviour in eating out establishments.
Material and methods: An online consumer survey was conducted in 2016. The quantitative research was undertaken in
the form of a questionnaire among a group of 403 people selected in terms of age (18-35 years old), residence (big cities)
and frequency of eating out or away from the home.
Results. The results of this research show that the respondents’ perception of information was positive and influenced
both their perception of the eating out establishment, as well as their purchasing decisions. Only gender was statistically
important for the differentiation of the consumers’ behaviour within the scope analyzed.
Conclusions. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that providing nutritional information may increase the
competitiveness of eating out establishments. It may also lead to a more rational marketplace, where choices in terms of
health may impact social health, taking into consideration the growing popularity of eating out or away from home.
... When comparing the years from 1977–1978 to 1994–1996, consumption of food prepared away from home increased from 18 to 32% of total calories consumed. The portion sizes of foods from takeout shops, fast food establishments and family-style restaurants have been on the rise for the past three decades (Guthrie et al. 2002; Harnack 2006). The implications for developing intervention messages and strategies are that nutrition educators need to be aware of the increasing role of foods prepared and purchased outside the home in Americans' diets (Steenhuis 2004). ...
... When actively asked for further nutrition information, the restaurants claim that the menus either change too frequently or were too large to make that information readily available. Restaurants , although asked to voluntarily provide this information, rarely do (Harnack 2006). Given that Americans will consume nearly 70 billion commercially prepared meals and snacks in 2005, foodservice establishments have the opportunity to influence how millions of people eat each week (USDA Economic Research Service 2003). ...
The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of pop-up messages promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables in a corporate setting. Fun food facts and nutritional information about fruits and vegetables were marketed through electronic pop-up messages attached to a corporate intranet menu. A Pearson's correlation, between total fruit sales and website hits during the test period, showed a moderately positive correlation. This, however, was weaker than the correlation found during the baseline period. No significant differences were found concerning total fruit sales between the pretest, baseline and test periods. Daily menu website at the beginning of the workweek had significantly lower hits than the previous year. The mean cafeteria menu website hits at the end of the workweek were higher during the intranet intervention. Results indicate that an intranet intervention implemented at the end of the workweek could effectively market healthful cafeteria food options to corporate employees.
... In 2004, 44 % of the 300 largest US chain restaurants by sales provided nutrition information on websites or upon request (12) . Also in 2004, among fifteen table service chain restaurants operating in Minnesota, ten provided some nutrition information but nine of these ten only provided data for items with specific health claims, such as 'heart healthy' or 'low fat' (13) . It is likely that these rates changed substantially even before passage of the ACA, due to state and local regulations. ...
... One reason for the absence of prior studies was the lack of nutrition information in the past. Harnack found that only three of fifteen table service restaurants provided complete nutrition information on their websites in [2004][2005] and no restaurant without website information provided it upon email request (13) . Wootan and Osbourn found that 44 % of US chains in the Restaurant & Institutions magazine list reported complete nutrition information on websites in 2004 (12) , compared with the present study's 61 % in 2010. ...
Objective:
The present study aimed to (i) describe the availability of nutrition information in major chain restaurants, (ii) document the energy and nutrient levels of menu items, (iii) evaluate relationships with restaurant characteristics, menu labelling and trans fat laws, and nutrition information accessibility, and (iv) compare energy and nutrient levels against industry-sponsored and government-issued nutrition criteria.
Design:
Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis of the energy, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, carbohydrate and protein levels of 29 531 regular and 1392 children's menu items [corrected].
Setting:
Energy and nutrition information provided on restaurant websites or upon request, and secondary databases on restaurant characteristics.
Subjects:
The top 400 US chain restaurants by sales, based on the 2009 list of the Restaurants & Institutions magazine.
Results:
Complete nutrition information was reported for 245 (61 %) restaurants. Appetizers had more energy, fat and sodium than all other item types. Children's menu specialty beverages had more fat, saturated fat and carbohydrates than comparable regular menu beverages. The majority of main entrées fell below one-third of the US Department of Agriculture's estimated daily energy needs, but as few as 3 % were also within limits for sodium, fat and saturated fat. Main entrées had significantly more energy, fat and saturated fat in family-style restaurants than in fast-food restaurants. Restaurants that made nutrition information easily accessible on websites had significantly lower energy, fat and sodium contents across menu offerings than those providing information only upon request.
Conclusions:
The paper provides a comprehensive view of chain restaurant menu nutrition prior to nationwide labelling laws. It offers baseline data to evaluate how restaurants respond after laws are implemented.
... The time and subsequent financial costs of creating a menu which presents accurate nutritional information in appropriate detail and the subsequent staff training involved could ultimately be quite considerable for small and independent restaurants and could perhaps increase the gap in prices and profits between chain restaurants and independents. Lowcost alternatives for nutrition labelling in restaurants need to be created (Maestro and Salay, 2008) or such schemes may only be operational in chain restaurants (Harnack, 2006). ...
Purpose
The food standards agency recently encouraged catering companies in the UK to introduce calorie labelling on menus or at the point of purchase. The purpose of this paper is to report the feasibility of implementing such a scheme in a restaurant in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
A practical case study approach was adopted whereby all foods on the menu of a London‐based five star hotel restaurant were analysed nutritionally. The menu presented the amount of calories, saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, fibre and sodium each dish contained. The issues surrounding the display of nutritional information on restaurant menus, perceived difficulties or barriers and resistance to the scheme by staff were documented qualitatively.
Findings
Time constraints, and the consequential financial costs, were identified as being barriers that need to be surmounted if the scheme is to operate successfully. The scheme was also viewed as being of low priority by the restaurant operational team.
Practical implications
The paper provides a greater understanding of the operational aspects of nutrition labelling in the catering industry.
Originality/value
This paper adds practical knowledge to the limited literature that exists in relation to nutrition labelling in restaurants in the UK and identifies barriers that need to be overcome for such schemes to be widely implemented and successful.
... 3,4 These undesirable aspects of eating out may result in part from low availability of healthy options, lack of information about caloric and other nutrition content of foods and beverages, promotion of unhealthy eating or large portions, or misestimation by customers of portion sizes and nutritional content of choices. [5][6][7][8] There have been attempts to try to improve the healthfulness of restaurant choices or at least customer awareness. 9 Caloric and other nutrition information is now available on restaurant menus, voluntarily and through regulation, in numerous areas throughout the U.S., and several chain restaurants are currently planning national roll-outs. ...
Recent attempts to improve the healthfulness of away-from-home eating include regulations requiring restaurants to post nutrition information. The impact of such regulations on restaurant environments is unknown.
To examine changes in restaurant environments from before to after nutrition-labeling regulation in a newly regulated county versus a nonregulated county.
Using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey-Restaurant version audit, environments within the same quick-service chain restaurants were evaluated in King County (regulated) before and 6 and 18 months after regulation enforcement and in Multnomah County (nonregulated) restaurants over a 6-month period. Data were collected in 2008-2010 and analyses conducted in 2011.
Overall availability of healthy options and facilitation of healthy eating did not increase differentially in King County versus Multnomah County restaurants aside from the substantial increase in onsite nutrition information posting in King County restaurants required by the new regulation. Barriers to healthful eating decreased in King County relative to Multnomah County restaurants, particularly in food-oriented establishments. King County restaurants demonstrated modest increases in signage that promotes healthy eating, although the frequency of such promotion remained low, and the availability of reduced portions decreased in these restaurants. The healthfulness of children's menus improved modestly over time, but not differentially by county.
A restaurant nutrition-labeling regulation was accompanied by some, but not uniform, improvements in other aspects of restaurant environments in the regulated compared to the nonregulated county. Additional opportunities exist for improving the healthfulness of away-from-home eating beyond menu labeling.
As obesity and cancer threaten Americans' quality of life, eating more vegetables and lighter foods is becoming the new trend with Asian foods being a good source of vegetables. The primary finding of this study indicates that food neophobia (defined as a reluctance to eat and/or avoidance of new foods) plays an important role in influencing consumer familiarity with Asian cuisine, and thus further influences consumer attitude toward Asian menu items and consumer intent to purchase those items. This study shows that improving consumer familiarity by adding familiar flavors, appearance, presentation, and preparation methods into the newly-developed menu items could remove a potential barrier in trying new ethnic foods. The results also indicate that nutrition information moderates the impact of familiarity on U.S. consumers' nutrition-related attitudes toward Asian menu items.
As the obesity epidemic continues, restaurants are being encouraged or required to take action such as providing nutritional information at the point of purchase on menus. A deeper examination of what affects food choices at restaurants is needed to determine what can be done to encourage healthier choices at restaurants. Focus groups were used to better understand customers' restaurant food choices and to develop strategies to encourage healthier eating at restaurants. Seven themes emerged which provide insight into what can be done by restaurants to encourage healthier choices. The first three themes: amount, sacrifice, and formation of purchase intentions are discussed here.
This chapter presents some of the recent issues and studies related to nutritional information/label use. Specifically, we discuss the regulatory environment surrounding nutritional labels as well as theoretical and econometric modeling of nutrition information, key findings of recent studies on consumers' use of nutrition information and its effects on consumer behavior, dietary intakes, and health outcomes. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of nutritional labels as a policy instrument and the need for more marketing and economics research in the area of nutritional labeling.
Diet-related environmental and policy interventions are being advocated at a population level because individual change is more likely to be facilitated and sustained if the environment within which choices are made supports healthful food options.
This study aims to review research that examines factors having an influence on food choices in social environments, physical environments, and macroenvironments.
A snowball strategy was used to identify relevant peer-reviewed studies and reviews, with a focus on research completed in the US and published within the past 10 years.
Research has identified a number of environmental factors associated with dietary intake; however, the majority of completed studies have methodological limitations which limit their credibility to guide interventions and policy changes.
Future research will need to emphasize multilevel investigations, examine how associations vary across population subgroups, develop a standard set of measures for assessing food environments and policies, and improve dietary assessment methodology.
Traditional ways of preventing and treating overweight and obesity have almost invariably focused on changing the behavior of individuals, an approach that has proven woefully inadequate, as indicated by the rising rates of both conditions. Considering the many aspects of American culture that promote obesity, from the proliferation of fast-food outlets to almost universal reliance on automobiles, reversing current trends will require a multifaceted public health policy approach as well as considerable funding. National leadership is needed to ensure the participation of health officials and researchers, educators and legislators, transportation experts and urban planners, and businesses and nonprofit groups in formulating a public health campaign with a better chance of success. The authors outline a broad range of policy recommendations and suggest that an obesity prevention campaign might be funded, in part, with revenues from small taxes on selected products that provide "empty" calories-such as soft drinks-or that reduce physical activity-such as automobiles.
Although we are just beginning to understand how environmental factors such as portion size affect eating behavior, the available data suggest that large portions of energy-dense foods are contributing to the obesity epidemic. Several possible strategies for adjusting portions to bring intake back in line with energy requirements are discussed. The continuing rise in the rates of obesity calls for urgent action.
This study sought to determine attitudes toward nutrition, nutrition marketing practices, the relationship between attitudes toward nutrition and nutrition marketing practices, and nutrition training practices in restaurants. A written questionnaire was mailed to 200 research and development (R & D) directors in restaurant companies included in Restaurants & Institutions' list of top 400 foodservice organizations ranked by sales. Seventy (35%) responded. Most R & D directors did not think they were responsible for improving the health of their consumers. A positive relationship existed between attitudes toward nutrition and nutrition marketing practices (P = .013). Forty-four reported that they marketed nutrition and planned to add nutritious menu items in the future. Forty-six reported that nutritious meal options represented 0 to 10% of total sales. Nutrition information was provided to consumers by 27 restaurant companies but such information often had to be requested. The American Heart Association was a popular source of nutrition and menu-planning information. Twelve companies employed a registered dietitian, and 14 used registered dietitians as consultants. Nutrition-related training for restaurant employees was limited. These findings indicate that dietitians have opportunities to market their skills in developing nutritious menu items and providing staff training. Also, dietitians should encourage consumers (especially those with special dietary needs) to let restaurant managers know their menu and nutrition information needs.
This study determined the major obstacles that foodservices face regarding nutrition labeling.
Survey questionnaire was conducted in May 1994. In addition to demographic questions, the directors were asked questions addressing willingness, current practices, and perceived obstacles related to nutrition labeling.
Sixty-eight research and development directors of the largest foodservice corporations as shown in Restaurants & Institutions magazine's list of the top 400 largest foodservices (July 1993).
P tests were used to determine significance within a group for the number of foodservices that were currently using nutrition labeling, perceived impact of nutrition labeling on sales, and perceived responsibility to add nutrition labels. Regression analysis was used to determine the importance of factors on willingness to label.
Response rate was 45.3%. Most companies were neutral about their willingness to use nutrition labeling. Two thirds of the respondents were not currently using nutrition labels. Only one third thought that it was the foodservice's responsibility to provide such information. Several companies perceived that nutrition labeling would have a potentially negative effect on annual sales volume. Major obstacles were identified as menu or personnel related, rather than cost related. Menu-related obstacles included too many menu variations, limited space on the menu for labeling, and loss of flexibility in changing the menu. Personnel-related obstacles included difficulty in training employees to implement nutrition labeling, and not enough time for foodservice personnel to implement nutrition labeling.
Numerous opportunities will be created for dietetics professionals in helping foodservices overcome these menu- or personnel-related obstacles.
Marketing nutrition in restaurants
- Sneed
Halting the obesity epidemic
- Nestle