Health Law to put Calorie Info on Vending Machines.....

[MMC]

Office workers in search of snacks will be counting calories along with their change under new labeling regulations for vending machines included in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.

Requiring calorie information to be displayed on roughly 5 million vending machines nationwide will help consumers make healthier choices, says the Food and Drug Administration, which is expected to release final rules early next year. It estimates the cost to the vending machine industry at $25.8 million initially and $24 million per year after that, but says if just .02 percent of obese adults ate 100 fewer calories a week, the savings to the health care system would be at least that great.

The rules will apply to about 10,800 companies that operate 20 or more machines. Nearly three quarters of those companies have three or fewer employees, and their profit margin is extremely low, according to the National Automatic Merchandising Association. An initial investment of $2,400 plus $2,200 in annual costs is a lot of money for a small company that only clears a few thousand dollars a year, said Eric Dell, the group's vice president for government affairs.

The FDA also is working on final rules for requiring restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to post calories information, something some cities already mandate and some large fast-food operations have begun doing voluntarily. A 2011 study in New York found that only one in six customers looked at the information, but those who did generally ordered about 100 fewer calories. A more recent study in Philadelphia found no difference in calories purchased after the city's labeling law took effect.

Even without the calorie counts, consumers already have ways to make healthier choices from vending machines. The vending machine industry group launched its "Fit Pick" system in 2005, which includes stickers placed in front of products that meet healthy guidelines for fat and sugar content. The program is used by nearly 14,000 businesses, schools and government agencies, as well as all branches of the military.....snip~

Health law to put calorie info on vending machines


What do you think about this? Is it wasteful or really necessary? Especially since Pharmacies may be giving out info for Overweight counseling. Moreover how many kids use vending machines and wont ready any of it. Hell.....I watch them play video and computer games and most skip any reading. Most going Right to where the action is.

 

[joG]

Office workers in search of snacks will be counting calories along with their change under new labeling regulations for vending machines included in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.

Requiring calorie information to be displayed on roughly 5 million vending machines nationwide will help consumers make healthier choices, says the Food and Drug Administration, which is expected to release final rules early next year. It estimates the cost to the vending machine industry at $25.8 million initially and $24 million per year after that, but says if just .02 percent of obese adults ate 100 fewer calories a week, the savings to the health care system would be at least that great.

The rules will apply to about 10,800 companies that operate 20 or more machines. Nearly three quarters of those companies have three or fewer employees, and their profit margin is extremely low, according to the National Automatic Merchandising Association. An initial investment of $2,400 plus $2,200 in annual costs is a lot of money for a small company that only clears a few thousand dollars a year, said Eric Dell, the group's vice president for government affairs.

The FDA also is working on final rules for requiring restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to post calories information, something some cities already mandate and some large fast-food operations have begun doing voluntarily. A 2011 study in New York found that only one in six customers looked at the information, but those who did generally ordered about 100 fewer calories. A more recent study in Philadelphia found no difference in calories purchased after the city's labeling law took effect.

Even without the calorie counts, consumers already have ways to make healthier choices from vending machines. The vending machine industry group launched its "Fit Pick" system in 2005, which includes stickers placed in front of products that meet healthy guidelines for fat and sugar content. The program is used by nearly 14,000 businesses, schools and government agencies, as well as all branches of the military.....snip~

Health law to put calorie info on vending machines


What do you think about this? Is it wasteful or really necessary? Especially since Pharmacies may be giving out info for Overweight counseling. Moreover how many kids use vending machines and wont ready any of it. Hell.....I watch them play video and computer games and most skip any reading. Most going Right to where the action is.

Will the owners of the vending machines be compensated for the costs?

 

[iacardsfan]

Will the owners of the vending machines be compensated for the costs?

Is that even a serious question? Of course they won't. Rules on rules on rules but no way for the private sector to carry them out without suffocating themselves.

 

[joG]

Is that even a serious question? Of course they won't. Rules on rules on rules but no way for the private sector to carry them out without suffocating themselves.

Serious question? !!
It should be the second question the electorate asks of any regulation.

 

[iacardsfan]

I don't disagree. What I am saying is, of course the administration is offering compensation. It's their m.o.

 

[Helix]

I'm pretty ok with this one. As someone who fights daily (and successfully) to maintain my weight loss, this helps me to make better choices.

There's a cost free way to do this : put the snacks in backwards with the nutritional info facing out.

Yeah, I'm not going to actively lobby for this kind of thing, but I will use it every day, and you'll get more money from me and others like me if you put the calorie counts at point of sale.

 

[MMC]

Will the owners of the vending machines be compensated for the costs?

Heya Jog.....Maybe those with state or fed institutions. Also it says one out of 6 customers actually look at the info. Bet that doubles up with people on the go. But like I said.....would that even include kids. Other than in a school setting. Or some institutionalized setting. Some places say they show a difference and others say they don't.

So is it really effective? People are going to go with what will satisfy themselves. IMO!

 

[Aunt Spiker]

Basically - they're siding with the belief that people are too damned stupid to realize that the candy bar is high in sugar and fat and the chips are high in sodium.

The individual packages are already labeled - and people who CARE should already be aware that junk food is JUNK FOOD - so what is the labeling for?

People KNOW they shouldn't eat it - people KNOW that crackers aren't as bad as the candybar. People know this crap.

 

[joG]

Heya Jog.....Maybe those with state or fed institutions. Also it says one out of 6 customers actually look at the info. Bet that doubles up with people on the go. But like I said.....would that even include kids. Other than in a school setting. Or some institutionalized setting. Some places say they show a difference and others say they don't.

So is it really effective? People are going to go with what will satisfy themselves. IMO!

The cost benefit study would be interesting.

 

[MMC]

The cost benefit study would be interesting.

Yeah.....to find out how much more of a waste comes along with Obamacare.

 

[Your Star]

This seems like a practical regulation that should lead to more people making smarter choices.

I see nothing wrong with this.

 

[radcen]

I'm pretty ok with this one. As someone who fights daily (and successfully) to maintain my weight loss, this helps me to make better choices.

There's a cost free way to do this : put the snacks in backwards with the nutritional info facing out.

Yeah, I'm not going to actively lobby for this kind of thing, but I will use it every day, and you'll get more money from me and others like me if you put the calorie counts at point of sale.

Seriously, do you not already know that a candy bar or chips will be high in calories and/or fat? Is knowing that a Snickers is 275 calories while a Hershey bar is 235 calories make a huge impact in your daily caloric decisions?

(Calorie numbers made up for example purposes)

 

[Helix]

Seriously, do you not already know that a candy bar or chips will be high in calories and/or fat? Is knowing that a Snickers is 275 calories while a Hershey bar is 235 calories make a huge impact in your daily caloric decisions?

(Calorie numbers made up for example purposes)

yeah, it does have a pretty big impact on the food choices that i make. i used to be obese, and now i have a BMI in the 22 range.

somebody probably raged against nutritional info being required for everything we buy at the grocery store at one point, but nobody does today. same will be true for nutritional info at restaurants and vending machines in 20 years.

just put the snacks in backwards with the label facing out. problem solved.

 

[Henrin]

yeah, it does have a pretty big impact on the food choices that i make. i used to be obese, and now i have a BMI in the 22 range.

somebody probably raged against nutritional info being required for everything we buy at the grocery store at one point, but nobody does today. same will be true for nutritional info at restaurants and vending machines in 20 years.

just put the snacks in backwards with the label facing out. problem solved.

Kids get to know nanny, accept nanny and even love nanny. I never much cared for her. She's just a bossy bitch.

 

[Henrin]

This seems like a practical regulation that should lead to more people making smarter choices.

I see nothing wrong with this.

Stupid should be left to die, not assisted in survival.

 

[Greenbeard]

Kids get to know nanny, accept nanny and even love nanny. I never much cared for her. She's just a bossy bitch.

Bizarre reaction to a disclosure/labeling law. The philosophy behind that kind of approach is that decision-making autonomy lies with the individual and he should have access to all the information he might need when making his choice.

It's the opposite of a sort of Bloomberg-ian nanny approach that would deliberately limit your choices by banning vending machines or telling you what kind of snacks can be included in them (for your own good).

 

[radcen]

yeah, it does have a pretty big impact on the food choices that i make. i used to be obese, and now i have a BMI in the 22 range.

somebody probably raged against nutritional info being required for everything we buy at the grocery store at one point, but nobody does today. same will be true for nutritional info at restaurants and vending machines in 20 years.

just put the snacks in backwards with the label facing out. problem solved.

"Where's the line?" is my point. You're correct in that some did... and still do... oppose nutrition labeling at all. I oppose their opposition. Labeling is good, IMO. But, like anything, there is a line where it becomes absurd.

The vast majority of people who are buying a Snickers from a vending machine have had a Snickers before. If they're the type that it's important to them, then they already know the information. It's not unreasonable that people retain information for future use, such as purchasing a single unit from a vending machine. If nothing else, they can get on their smart phone and look up the info.

As an aside, many candy bars nowadays have the nutrition info tucked away under the seal and you wouldn't be able to see it anyway, even if put in backward, without manipulating each candy bar in each machine.

 

[Your Star]

Stupid should be left to die, not assisted in survival.

We have an obesity problem in this country, a severe one, due to in part a lack of information about health. This is a decent step to solve this problem.

 

[Henrin]

We have an obesity problem in this country, a severe one, due to in part a lack of information about health. This is a decent step to solve this problem.

No, it's due to stupidity. Stupid should be eliminated, not helped to survive.

 

[Helix]

Kids get to know nanny, accept nanny and even love nanny.

we teach them that one in high school when they have to endure random locker searches and Tinker v. Des Moines. maybe that's where we should be directing our rage.

putting the candy bars in the machines backwards so that we can see what we're buying seems pretty tame compared to that.

 

[Henrin]

Bizarre reaction to a disclosure/labeling law. The philosophy behind that kind of approach is that decision-making autonomy lies with the individual and he should have access to all the information he might need when making his choice.

It's the opposite of a sort of Bloomberg-ian nanny approach that would deliberately limit your choices by banning vending machines or telling you what kind of snacks can be included in them (for your own good).

They're both nanny state approaches. One is just nicer is all.

 

[radcen]

We have an obesity problem in this country, a severe one, due to in part a lack of information about health. This is a decent step to solve this problem.

We're not lacking in information. We're lacking in interest. Fact is, we've become accustomed to sugary tastes and that's what we want.

Generic "we", of course.

 

[Your Star]

No, it's due to stupidity. Stupid should be eliminated, not helped to survive.

Or educated.

What's wrong with providing all the information one would need to make healthy choices?

 

[Greenbeard]

They're both nanny state approaches. One is just nicer is all.

How is empowering an individual consumer to make an informed decision about his own health and eating habits a "nanny state approach"?

 

[Helix]

"Where's the line?" is my point. You're correct in that some did... and still do... oppose nutrition labeling at all. I oppose their opposition. Labeling is good, IMO. But, like anything, there is a line where it becomes absurd.

The vast majority of people who are buying a Snickers from a vending machine have had a Snickers before. If they're the type that it's important to them, then they already know the information. It's not unreasonable that people retain information for future use, such as purchasing a single unit from a vending machine. If nothing else, they can get on their smart phone and look up the info.

As an aside, many candy bars nowadays have the nutrition info tucked away under the seal and you wouldn't be able to see it anyway, even if put in backward, without manipulating each candy bar in each machine.

so don't tuck it under the seal. why do they do that? it's a rhetorical question; we both know why.

i wouldn't have put this provision into the worthless PPACA, but i sure will enjoy the convenience. if it was up to me, we'd all be enrolled in medicare for basic coverage, and snack makers could still hide calorie, sugar, and fat data for candy bars in the vending machines. i lost on single payer, so i'll take vending machine calorie counts as a consolation prize. at least this worthless law accidentally did something cool.