News on Nutrition from the United States

Chain restaurant operators throughout California said they are prepared to comply this week with the first phase of a state menu-labeling mandate, but many noted that preparation did not immediately include posting calories on menus and menu boards. Be...

In New York City, it was a straightforward suggestion that left a lingering aftertaste in many people’s mouths: The city’s Department of Health and Hygiene exhorted restaurants and food manufacturers and the marketers serving them to reduce sodium cont...

In the August 2009 issue of the international journal Atherosclerosis, University of Illinois emeritus veterinary biosciences professor Fred Kummerow reports for the first time that trans fats interfere with more than one key enzyme in the regulation o...

A negotiated bipartisan agreement by three U.S. lawmakers that combines key elements of two existing Senate menu-labeling bills is drawing wide praise from inside and outside the industry. Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Tom Carper, D-Del., and Lisa Murkowsk...

According to Hank Cardello, food industry expert and author of Stuffed: An Insider’s Look at Who’s REALLY Making America Fat, the same problems that have menaced the Detroit auto industry could soon plague the food industry. If food processors don’t wa...

Burger King Corp.(NYSE:BKC) announced today that it is enhancing its BK® Kids Meal menu with offerings that meet its stringent nutrition criteria for advertised Kids Meals, as part of the company’s commitment to its BK Positive StepsSM program. With th...

Fast-food chains have recently deflected criticism of their menu offerings by adding healthy items like salads. But a paper soon to be released in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that the presence of healthy options on a menu can induce some ...

Doyle Niemann, a delegate in the Maryland General Assembly, agreed Thursday to withdraw his menu-labeling bill after it failed to draw much support from lawmakers. The Restaurant Association of Maryland, which actively opposed the measure, praised Niem...

Renal specialists have called for clear labeling on products that use potassium chloride as a salt replacer because it could pose a hidden risk for dialysis patients. Potassium chloride has been seen as a potential candidate for salt replacement becaus...

Ever wonder why those French fries taste so good when you are depressed?Here’s one theory: Salt is a natural antidepressant, which might explain why we have a tendency to over-ingest it.Kim Johnson, a psychologist from the University of Iowa, discovere...

Sorry, men: Baked Lay's are no longer meant for you. Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, is overhauling all of its calorie-conscious snacks to make them appeal to women, including the baked versions of Lay's, Fritos, Ruffles, Doritos, Cheetos and Tosti...

National Restaurant Association Executive Vice President for Public Affairs Beth Johnson issued the following statement in response to today's U.S. Court of Appeals decision to uphold a New York City Board of Health regulation that dictates how nutrit...

A new survey conducted by foodservice consultants Technomic, Inc. revealed that the mandated calorie disclosure for New York City restaurants with 15 or more units is affecting what items consumers order and which restaurants they visit. Technomic fou...

New Zealand scientists have reported that heavily processed foods with a high glycaemic index (GI) could be addictive in a similar way to drugs.Simon Thornley, from the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, noted that foods with a high GI caused blo...

Con la obesidad ocupando las páginas centrales, ¿cuál debería ser la respuesta de las empresas que fabrican, venden y/o hacen publicidad de alimentos con alto contenido calórico y graso? Se estima que en Estados Unidos el 10% de los niños que aún no v...

As of Jan. 1 2009 more than 1,500 fast-food and chain restaurants throughout Seattle and King County will be required to post on their menu boards or some other "easily readable"sign how many calories, milligrams of sodium and grams of satura...

Even as artery-clogging trans fats continue their fast fade from the nation's food supply, there are early signs that 2009's nutrition "bad guy"will be salt. Salt is being siphoned from soups, banished from breads, channeled out of chips, e...

With so much emphasis on health care during the current presidential campaign, whoever wins next Tuesday’s election will need to make some speedy decisions about the runaway medical costs occasioned by America’s unhealthy eating habits. Salt will lik...