May 17 2008

Amicus curiae brief: calorie labeling

Public health groups have filed an amicus curiae brief in support of New York City’s calorie labeling initiative.  If you want to see what one looks like, here it is (I signed it too).  Michael Jacobson tells me that the Center for Science in the Public Interest has received documents in response to its Freedom of Information Act request.  These say that the FDA told the restaurant industry a year ago it would not interfere with the City’s proposal, suggesting that the FDA does not view federal laws as blocking calorie labeling.   In the meantime, the labels are drifting up on menu boards.  Go take a look!  Next: will they do any good?

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  • Kristen
  • June 2, 2008
  • 3:01 pm

That’s my question: What good will it do to post calories if most people don’t even know what the numbers mean? Most people have no idea how many calories they should be eating at each meal or snack. Is any effort underway to educate consumers so that they can put this information to good use? What are some recommendations for nutrition educators to maximize the benefit of this calorie labeling?

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