Many California restaurants have introduced calorie counts on menus in recent years. But as part of the recent federal healthcare overhaul, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to roll out national rules by year-end requiring any chain with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts for every item they sell.
Chains are scrambling to rework consumer favorites so they have fewer calories, and they are redesigning menus so that high-calorie items are balanced out by more-healthful options.
IHOP took its standard bacon-and-eggs breakfast, with 1,160 calories, and developed a version with turkey bacon and egg whites that has just 350 calories. Panera Bread Co., worried that customers would balk at sandwiches with more than 1,000 calories, cut back on mayonnaise, salami and bread. Starbucks Corp. launched a line of tiny cakes and mini donuts.
