Make Informed Dining Ontario's standard nutrition information program

TORONTO, April 23, 2013 /CNW/ - The restaurant industry supports the City of Toronto in seeking provincial action on providing nutrition information - and urges Ontario to adopt the Informed Dining program as the provincial standard to ensure comprehensive nutritional information is available to Ontarians.

The Informed Dining program provides comprehensive nutrition information customers have been saying they want and need, before they order a meal or snack at their favourite chain restaurant. So far, 25 of the country's leading chains have signed up to provide nutrition information to their customers in this standardized format.

"A patchwork of programs municipality by municipality, is unworkable and costly for restaurant operators and their customers," says Stephanie Jones, CRFA's Vice President, Ontario. "The answer is a standardized model that can be adopted across the country - Informed Dining is that model."

The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) and several provincial and territorial governments are working together to make the Informed Dining program -- which was developed by the British Columbia government -- the national standard for providing restaurant-goers with nutrition information. We welcome the opportunity to work with the City of Toronto and the province of Ontario to implement a national standard that Canadians say they need and want.

Informed Dining will make it easy for customers to see nutritional values like calories and sodium content in their standard menu choices. Recognizing that orders are customized, and space on menu boards is limited, Informed Dining is a better, stronger program than the one proposed by the City of Toronto.

We look forward to working with the Ontario government to deliver complete and consistent nutrition information to restaurant-goers in Ontario. Let's get started.

 

SOURCE: Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association

For further information:

Media Contact: Prasanthi Vasanthakumar, Communications Specialist, CRFA. 416-649-4254 or 1-800-387-5649 ext. 4254. Email: [e-mail].