Does the restaurant industry have a responsibility to address health issues when designing a menu? Perhaps not, however, faced with a growing interest in healthier menu choices among customers, smart companies are making changes.
At least by perception, fast food restaurants are the worst offenders. In fact, research shows that 60% of American’s are less than thrilled with their lunch choices. Often the culprit is limited time. This is a market to be tapped by forward thinking chains.
Arby’s now offers a Market Fresh Pecan Chicken Salad Sandwich and wrap. This can be nutritionally improved by selecting whole-grain flat bread or honey wheat bread. McDonald’s has made apples standard in their kid’s meals. KFC even started serving roasted chicken rather than fried.
Often the solution is simple portion control. When diners eat at upscale restaurants, they don’t expect large portions, they expect quality. By offering smaller meals under more appealing labels, fast food restaurants may appeal to those who would prefer more nutritious options.
Of course, no matter how many options fast food restaurants provide, most customers will still choose foods they know are not healthy. Lower salt and fat requirements mandated by the government is unlikely to make much of a difference. The British Medical Journal showed that only one in six diners pay any attention to posted calorie and fat stats on menus.
Salt is the newest target to face criticism at restaurants. As the flavor of salt is difficult to mimic, reduction of salt may be particularly hard to achieve, but the industry seems committed to make the change by offering selections lower in sodium.
Moe’s Southwest Grill is leading the movement and began using KCLean, a salt substitute, more than a year ago. This product only contains 50% of the sodium found in regular salt. The change was made with no publicity and there have been no complaints. Other well known chains are now following suit.
Jim Balis' Blog 