Starbucks calorie counts in New York. Photograph from bitchcakesny on Flickr Since the obesity issue in the UK is now considered a "mounting crisis," the government is stepping in and pushing major food chains to display calorie counts. Pizza Hut, with about 700 outlets in the UK, was first to publicly step up and offer the nutritional info. The goal is for every takeaway outlet, and maybe even some Michelin-starred restaurants, to share the levels of fat, sugar, and salt. In New York, food chains with more than 15 outlets across the United States must display calorie listings, and California passed similar legislation. While it's a little disconcerting to know your gussied-up coffee has 450 calories, it's probably better...
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Zach Brooks on the blog Midtown Lunch shows what a farce the calorie counts posted by Chipotle are. The calorie counts are required under a new New York City law that mandates they be revealed to consumers. A basic burrito is listed as having "420 to 918 calories," but Brooks's basic math skills reveal that a 420-calorie burrito would consist solely of the tortilla wrapper and vegetarian black beans. If this is what the new law is going to provide consumers, this is indeed a law without teeth (pun intended). I'm also saddened to find just how caloric most of the food at Chipotle is. I'm going to have to look closely to find out how many calories my...
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