Pizza chains fight calorie counts

[Hum]

There are 34 million ways to customize it, depending on toppings and crust and size, according to the number-crunchers at Domino?s.

That?s the message that some of the nation?s largest pizza chains want to impress upon Capitol Hill lawmakers Wednesday as they push for changes to a proposed menu labeling plan that would force chain restaurants and other food outlets to post the calorie counts of the foods they?re selling.

A fledgling coalition of pizza chains ? including Domino?s, Papa John?s, Little Caesars, Godfather?s Pizza and Pizza Hut ? argues that the government?s plan forces store owners to pay for in-store menu boards that most of their customers don?t see before ordering. The American Pizza Community, as the coalition is called, says 90 percent of their orders are placed online and over the phone.

Then there?s the problem of squeezing all the potential offerings onto one menu board.

?A light bulb goes on when people hear about all the possible combinations for pizza,? said Lynn Liddle, a Domino?s executive and chair of the coalition. ?They start to realize how difficult it would be to take a one-size-fits-all approach.?

Congress required menu labeling as part of the health-care reform law enacted in 2010, and the FDA has been working on the details ever since. The goal is to combat obesity by helping consumers make informed choices when they eat out, especially now that a third of the calories Americans consume come from foods prepared outside the home. Many studies show that calorie intake is higher when people dine out.

Under the FDA?s proposal, food chains with at least 20 locations ? including sit-down restaurants, fast-food outlets, bakeries, coffee shops, delis and convenience stores ? must disclose calories on menus and menu boards. Sodium, fat content and other nutritional information would have to be made available upon request.

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[nub]

Why not just list each topping separately and have them do the math? or just provide the details on the receipt generated by computer?

[Xilo]

Why not just list each topping separately and have them do the math? or just provide the details on the receipt generated by computer?

Seriously. This is what Freebirds here does (a burrito place). They put the nutritional value of every possible ingredient down. You have to do the math, but it makes it easier for the company and probably for everyone.

[Hum]

Should just print on the bottom of the receipt "Your ass is now this fat". :laugh:

[Growled Member]

Why not just list each topping separately and have them do the math? or just provide the details on the receipt generated by computer?

Because that is too much like common sense. No way would that work.

[Hum]

^ Pizza and common sense do not go together. :p

[Japlabot]

I'm sure there are more than enough health advocacy groups more than willing to pay Dominos for the cost of testing of all the components and printing costs for all of the signs.