原文网址：http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12010393 Food regulation in America Menu items Aug 28th 2008 | NEW YORK From The Economist print edition Restaurant chains must now list the calorie content of the food they sell IN JANUARY New York became the first American city to pass a law requiring restaurant chains to state the number of calories in everything on their menus, right down to the last pretzel. Full enforcement of the new rules began last month. Other cities and counties have since followed. Los Angeles is expected to vote on its own law within the next two weeks. California, meanwhile, is considering a statewide bill. 1月时，纽约通过法案，要求餐厅为菜单上的每一道菜都标示卡路里。 纽约因此成为第一个通过此种法案的美国城市。新规定於上个月开 始全面实施，其他城市和郡也跟进。洛杉矶预计在接下来两个礼拜内 针对这种法案进行表决。於此同时，加州也考虑在全州实行这样的法案。 Fans of menu labelling say it helps consumers, who tend to underestimate the calories in the food they buy. Critics say it is another step towards a nanny state. Companies complain that it is costly to reprint menus, and the National Restaurant Association says restaurants will find it difficult to meet a “ patchwork” of city, county and state standards. The New York State Restaurant Association was so outraged by the New York regulations that it sued, claiming infringement of commercial freedom of speech under the First Amendment. The case is now in the New York courts on appeal, and a decision is expected any day. 支持菜单标示的人说，这种作法可以帮助消费者，因为他们经常低估 自己采购的食物中的卡路里。批评者则说这样做会让政府越管越多。 一些公司抱怨说重印菜单要花钱，全美餐厅协会则表示要餐厅符合市、 郡、全国的各样繁杂标准非常困难。纽约州餐厅协会对此种规定非常 生气，甚至提出告诉，声称这种作法违反了宪法第一修正案保障的商 业言论自由。此案正在纽约的法院上诉中，判决随时可能会下来。 America’s restaurant industry, which is expected to have $558 billion in sales this year, has vigorously fought menu-labelling legislation. Some restaurants, already concerned about the slowing economy, worry they could lose customers if they draw attention to the number of calories in their food. Already, many New Yorkers have been disheartened to learn what their favourite dishes contain. Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at New York University and the author of “Food Politics”, says frequent restaurant-goers have found the calorie information “just astonishing”. 美国的餐厅业今年预计会有五千五百八十亿元的营收。餐厅业坚决反 对菜单标示的立法。有些餐厅本来就在忧虑经济趋缓，现在又担心如 果顾客注意到食物中的卡路里含量的话，生意会变差。许多纽约客已 经注意到他们最爱的美食的卡路里含量，因而受到心理冲击。纽约大 学的营养学教授Marion Nestle（他同时也是「食品政治」一书的作者） 说餐馆常客发现这些卡路里含量的资讯「非常吓人」。 It is too soon to say whether menu labelling will reduce sales or prompt diners to order something different. One study, published this year, found that customers ordered foods containing an average of 52 fewer calories when the information was prominently displayed in fast-food chains in New York. Another study found that diners ordered lower-calorie meals when the menu was labelled—but only on Mondays and Tuesdays. 到底菜单标示会减少餐厅营收？还是促使食客在点餐时作不一样的 选择？现在要下定论还太早。今年公布的一份研究报告发现：纽约 的速食店如果提供显眼的卡路里资讯，顾客点的餐点的卡路里含量 平均会少52. 另外一项研究发现，如果菜单有标示的话，顾客会点 低卡路里的餐点，但这种情形只发生在星期一和星期二。 Yet the new rules could also enable restaurants to attract customers, and reduce costs, by tweaking their menus. Many companies have already started to introduce new low-calorie items and serve smaller helpings. Starbucks, for example, has changed its “default” milk from whole milk to reduced-fat milk, cutting the calories in its drinks by 14%. (Reduced-fat milk also happens to be cheaper.) Dunkin’ Donuts has a new lower-calorie line called “DD Smart” that is designed to appeal to the health-conscious with such things as egg-white flatbreads and fruit smoothies. And McDonald’s has reduced the size of a helping of French fries, cutting the number of calories—and costs. 但是新法规的实施也有可能让餐厅修改菜单，因此招来更多顾客，并 减低支出。许多公司已经开始引进新式的低卡路里餐点，并减少餐点 份量。举例来说，星巴克已经把他们的牛奶从全脂改成低脂，因此将 饮品中的卡路里降低了14％。（低脂奶价格也比较便宜）Dunkin’ Donuts推出一种新的低卡路里路线叫做”DD Smart”，以蛋白卷饼和 水果汁这样的食物吸引有健康意识的顾客。麦当劳也减少了薯条的份 量，藉此减少卡路里与支出。 Le Pain Quotidien, a mid-range bakery chain with $165m in worldwide sales and 17 outlets in New York, thinks it has profited by adapting quickly to the new rules. Jack Moran, the company’s vice-president of branding, initially thought it was “frightening” that customers would be able to see the calories in everything on the menu. So he put together a team to overhaul the menu, cutting portions and eliminating items with lots of calories. This has proved, he says, a “ strategic advantage” and boosted business. The company is now planning to provide calorie information voluntarily in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles—even though the local laws do not yet require it. Le Pain Quotidien是一家全球营收一亿六千五百万，在纽约有17家分 店的中型连锁面包店。他们认为自己因为快速适应新规定而获益。该 公司的品牌经营副总Jack Moran一开始觉得，让顾客看到菜单上每一样 东西的卡路里含量是很可怕的一件事。所以他集合了一个团队来改良菜 单，减少份量并删掉卡路里含量很多的东西。最後证明了这个作法造就 了一个「策略优势」，并且提振了生意。尽管地方法规还没有这样的规 定，该公司现在计画要在华圣顿特区还有洛杉矶主动提供卡路里资讯。 --

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