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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHealth law to put calorie info on vending machines
By HOLLY RAMER
Dec. 28, 2013 10:37 AM EST
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) 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 money that would be spent to comply with this there's no return on the investment," he said.
full: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/health-law-put-calorie-info-vending-machines
Skittles
(153,164 posts)and a bag of chips will have five servings
ConcernedCanuk
(13,509 posts).
.
.
(4 servings)
so you are close.
CC
snooper2
(30,151 posts)really?
LisaLynne
(14,554 posts)You can't see the information on items in a vending machine and I've often wished I hadn't picked what I picked after reading it on the package. I think people having the information available to them is a good thing.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)See this picture-
Everything in it is bad for you...try not to eat out of it every day LOL
Well, yeah, that's true. There's never anything "good" in a vending machine, but one time I got a pack of crackers, thinking, hey, how bad can that be? And it was bad. I could have gone with a candy bar, lol.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)I don't think that that info would stop me.
LisaLynne
(14,554 posts)I think it will be useful. I'm also sure the snack industry would rather we not know.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)So I'm not going to stand around reading the info. I'm sure some people will find it useful.