The sandwich chain Panera Bread announced on Wednesday that it will post the calorie count of food items on its menu boards at stores across the U.S. This will begin as early as late March, early April.
This coincides with the increasing requests for the information as customers become more health-conscious. Also, both governmental and non-governmental groups are looking for ways to reduce obesity rates in the U.S.
When Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, spoke to the Associated Press she said it's great for chains to voluntarily provide calorie counts to customers.
Big, metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia are among cities that require chain restaurants to display their caloric-intake information on menu boards and table menus.
The Panera Bread chain stated that positive experiences from the mandated disclosures led to the move.
According to a Chicago Sun Times article, Scott Davis (who leads Panera's menu initiatives) said, "That gave us some forced exposure," said. "Most restaurants were a little nervous about what was going to happen in New York. We were pleasantly surprised."
The caloric transparency led to more customers shifting to soups and salads, he said.
See Panera’s product nutrition guide here.
What do you think?
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!