New York, NY -- October 26, 2005. Scientists and physicians associated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today applauded the move by fast food giant McDonald's to add nutrition labels to its food packages. According to the company's announcement, in the U.S. and Canada the packaging of most of its food items will carry the information and format consumers are used to seeing on food labels as well as new icons and bar charts indicating what percentages of daily requirements for calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates, and sodium are contained in the foods.
"Provision of these labels at the point of purchase will give consumers the opportunity to learn about the nutritional composition of their food selections," stated Dr. Ruth Kava, ACSH Nutrition Director. "Although such information has been available for some time on the company's website and informational brochures, having it right on the food package will increase the likelihood that people will actually read it and think about what it means," she continued.
Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, ACSH president, agreed that the labels will be valuable and added, "Whether or not consumers will take full advantage of this information remains to be seen. McDonald's is obviously trying to be part of the solution to the national problem of overweight and obesity and should be given credit for the attempt."
