Coca-Cola Co. said yesterday that it will put a calorie count on the front of almost all the drinks it sells around the world.
At the same time, some cities and states are requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus, hoping that will encourage overweight customers to choose lower-calorie foods. One key backer of this push, former NYC Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden, is now running the CDC.
The company said the labeling will go on almost all of the company’s products, including “all sparkling beverages, teas, energy drinks, flavored water beverages, juices and juice drinks.” The more-prominent labeling is already in place in Europe and Australia, it’s currently being rolled out in Mexico and the U.S. and will be in place world-wide by the end of 2011.
While I'm against a "soda tax," I applaud Coke for putting the calorie count on the front. We can now have Coke Zero and Coke 100.
I'd love it if chain restaurants posted nutritional information in a more prominent place and even on the menus. I travel a lot, and healthy eating is hard enough as it is.