Menu Labeling Loophole

Discovered this article will browsing for new information on menu labeling. I found it quite interesting that even though the new law is  forcing the food industry to tell consumers what they are eating, it still has ways to get around it. It seems like most laws have loopholes though.

Dining establishments with limited time offer (LTO) items on the menu for less than 60 days within a calendar year, or those who test menu items on the menu for less than 90 days, are now exempt from providing nutritional information on their menu. While some restaurants are taking advantage of this loophole to increase LTO’s and save money on nutritional testing, many are going a step further and using this as a way to be ‘transparent’ to their customers, posting the nutrition data to say, “I have nothing to hide.”

Now one question that comes up is who has consumers’ best interest at heart? This could come down to giving the people what they want in high calorie foods while passing the litmus test and taking away the guilt of posting dietary information – adding a level of trust and loyalty with customers who appreciate the healthy transparency regardless of the law!

I think more organizations will start to use this exemption to save money. I also believe that this is tricking the consumer into believing that all the food items offered on a menu will have a caloric content and nutritional information.