As the obesity epidemic in North America continues to expand, restaurants are gradually tinkering with their menus to reduce salt and sugar. Stan Frankenthaler, executive chef at Dunkin’ Brands Group has been using a “stepped approach” to cutting salt and sugar, he says, “restaurants are wanting to do it a little bit behind the scenes because there’s a belief that something labeled healthy won’t taste as good.”
Chefs and executives from 25 food companies have formed the Healthy Menus R&D Collaborative, whose goal is to make their menus healthier and keep non-profit organizations like, the Institute of Medicine, lobbying the government for more regulation in the restaurant industry.
While it is admirable that the food companies are slowly changing the amount of salt and sugar in their food it is questionable whether this would have happened without the outcry from the non profit health groups who monitor the food served to the public and lobby the government for change. However, many consumers don’t want the new improved food, Chef Cordova from Au Bon Pain describes a 480 calorie cinnamon roll that was introduced to replace their 550 calorie roll and explains they had numerous emails complaining about the new roll. Chef Cordova said, “sometimes it’s a sin to take sugar away.” North Americans have become accustomed to unhealthy food and it may be an uphill battle to change their eating habits.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-14/2014-outlook-fast-food-chains-inch-toward-healthiness#r=hpt-ls