You Don’t Get to Know the Calorie Count of Your Movie Popcorn

Posted on Apr 1, 2011

Flickr / CLF(CC-BY)

Soon, Americans won’t be able to hide from the sometimes dismaying nutritional readouts on menus at their favorite chain restaurants—and even on some vending machines—but they still can in the soothing, darkened space of their local movie theater.  —KA

The New York Times:

The federal government on Friday released proposed rules requiring chain restaurants and other businesses that serve food to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards. But after objections from theater chains, the rules give a pass to those box-office snacks — even though a large popcorn and soda can contain as many calories as a typical person needs in a day.

[...] Under the change, the law also would not apply to bowling allies, carnivals, airplanes and other establishments where the primary purpose was not the sale of food.

But it would cover convenience stores and supermarkets that offer ready-to-eat items like hot dogs, deli sandwiches or rotisserie chicken, as long as they were part of a chain of sufficient size. In such establishments and in restaurants, each item on a salad bar would have to be labeled to show how many calories were in a serving.

Mr. Taylor said the rules would not cover alcohol sold in restaurants because the F.D.A. did not have jurisdiction to regulate alcohol.

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