Kilojoule Counts on Menu Boards

In 2011, the Bligh Government proposed that Queensland follow the lead of New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to legislate for the display of the energy content of food and drinks on the menu boards of certain fast food outlets. 

A key impetus for Australian governments to legislate the display of kilojoule counts is the growing level of obesity in the population (see for example, comments by the Queensland Health Minister, Hon Geoff Wilson MP, and former New South Wales Premier, Hon Kristina Keneally MP).  It is hoped that consumers will make healthier food choices if provided with information about the energy content of fast food and a typical person’s energy needs.

The display of the kilojoule content of fast food on menu boards was recommended by the Food Labelling Law and Policy Review Panel in its final report, Labelling Logic: Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy (2011).  It is also advocated by consumer watchdog Choice and the Heart Foundation.

The Food Regulation Standing Committee, at the request of the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council (ANZFRMC), has prepared and published Principles for Point-of-Sale Nutrition Information at Standard Food Outlets.  The guidelines, which have been endorsed by the ANZFRMC, were developed to assist jurisdictions planning to regulate point-of-sale nutrition information and to enable a consistent approach to be taken by the jurisdictions.

Queensland is proposing to introduce laws that are similar to those in NSW and the ACT.   The Food Act 2003 (NSW) and the Food Regulation 2010 (NSW) (these laws are discussed in the Queensland Parliamentary Library’s publication titled ‘Fast Food – Display of Nutrition Information and Traffic Light Labelling’) and the Food (Nutritional Information) Amendment Act 2011 (ACT) (this law will commence on 1 January 2013) mandate the display of the energy content of items on fast food menu boards for certain fast food outlets. 

A different approach to that of NSW and the ACT is being taken in Britain.  British businesses providing “out of home” food can choose whether or not to sign up to the British Department of Health calorie display program.  

Britain’s calorie display program, which is part of the British Government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal, commenced in September 2011.  Amongst the companies to have taken the pledge to provide calorie information for food and drinks for their customers are KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and McDonald’s.  While the NSW and the ACT legislation specify the location of the display of the nutrition information and the manner in which it must be displayed, British businesses that have signed the pledge can decide how and where to display the nutrition information.   Under principles drafted by the Responsibility Deal Food Network, the British businesses have to display the calorie information for specified items “clearly and prominently” at point of choice, and have to provide reference information on calorie requirements (see Department of Health, Technical Guidance on Voluntary Calorie Labelling for Catering Businesses and Guidance on Voluntary Calorie Labelling for Caterers (2011).  See also, European Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on food). 

Some people have expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of the display of kilojoule counts on menu boards, suggesting it may not affect the choices made by many consumers.  This is for reasons such as:

• Consumers in jurisdictions without menu board energy content displays currently have access to nutrition information through printed food wrappings and the Internet, and yet this does not appear to have reduced the purchase of kilojoule-laden fast food.  Most people go into fast food outlets knowing that the meal is likely to be high in kilojoules and unlikely to be very healthy, but the relatively low price and quickness of service often make fast food appealing.
• Many fast food outlets have healthier options on their menus, but at least one study has found that few customers purchase them. 

The results of studies on the impact of menu labelling have been mixed, with some studies showing that menu labelling had little or no impact on consumers’ choices (see for example, ‘Study: Menu Labeling Doesn’t Impact Food Choices’; ‘FDA Rolls Out Menu-Labeling Rules: But does it really work?’) and others showing that consumers purchased fewer kilojoules when presented with kilojoule or calorie counts (see for example, ‘Impact of Menu-Labelling: Yale study shows people eat less when they know more’).  It has been suggested, however, that even if consumers do not alter their eating habits on the basis of the displayed energy content information, fast food outlets may change their menus to offer healthier alternatives or modify existing options to reduce kilojoule levels.

Key Documents

Hon Geoff Wilson MP, Minister for Health, ‘Menu Boards to Help Queenslanders Make Healthy Choices’, Media Statement, 4 December 2011.

Neal Blewett, Nick Goddard, Simone Pettigrew, Chris Reynolds & Heather Yeatman, Labelling Logic: Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy (2011).

‘Choice Bites into Whopper: Time for a kilojoule count at the counter’, Choice Media Release, 2011.

Heart Foundation, Rapid Review of the Evidence: The need for nutrition labeling on menus, 2010.

‘Obesity: Menu Labeling Can’t Change Eating Behaviour’, Time Australia, 177(4), 31 January 2011, p 9.

Kylie Lang, ‘Eating Away at Health’, Sunday Mail, 11 December 2011, p 10.

Mary Westcott

General Distribution Research Team, Research and Information Service