Government should require restaurants to label calories and sodium on menus
February 28, 2012
Isabel Teotonio
LIFE REPORTER
For the first time, researchers have compiled an exhaustive report comparing the amount of calories and sodium levels in food items sold at 33 large chain restaurants in Canada.
The 90-page report, released Tuesday by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, notes the two highest-calorie and two lowest-calorie menu items in 14 categories, including appetizers, children’s menu items and pasta entrees. It also notes sodium levels for low and high-sodium foods in 11 categories.
The high levels of calories and sodium, and the wide range of both, demonstrate the need to make that information available on menus, says Bill Jeffery, who co-authored the report with Natalee Cappello.
“That underscores the importance of providing this information so people can make informed choices,” says Jeffery, national coordinator of the CSPI, an independent health advocacy organization.
For instance, at Tim Hortons, the Sausage, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich had 530 calories in July, compared with the English Muffin with Egg and Cheese at 280 calories. And at McDonald’s, the Angus Bacon & Cheese Sandwich had 1,990 mg of sodium, nearly triple the 700 mg in the Big Xtra Sandwich. (The average adult should consume about 2,000 calories and 1,500 to 2,300 mg of sodium per day.)
Harvey’s, Pizza Hut and Milestones were also among the restaurants featured in the report called Writing on the Wall: Time to put nutrition information on restaurant menus.
All 33 restaurants voluntarily make public the nutritional information of their foods. But it’s usually found online and it’s up to the customer to actively seek it out.
That’s why the CSPI is calling on government to require that chain restaurants disclose on their menus the number of calories in their food and flag items that are high in sodium.
Too many calories and too much sodium contribute to ill-health, disability, and premature death. Nutrition-related heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancers kill an estimated 48,000 Canadians each year and cost the economy more than $7 billion, according to the report.
Featured Sponsored Listings