What's in the popcorn? Cinemas would rather not have to say

[Liberal_in_LA]

What's in the popcorn? Cinemas would rather not have to say
Movie-chain operators are fighting proposed federal nutrition disclosure rules on concession snacks, saying they're an unwarranted intrusion into their business.


A provision in the federal healthcare law stipulates that restaurant chains with at least 20 U.S. locations must provide the calorie content of menu items. Last summer, the Food and Drug Administration indicated that it intended to apply the provision not only to restaurants but also to grocery stores and concession stands, including those at theaters.

Alarmed at the prospect, representatives of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners have been lobbying the FDA and congressional staff members in recent weeks to exempt theaters from the nutritional labeling requirement.

They argue that the proposed rules are an unwarranted intrusion into their business because people visit theaters to consume movies, not food.

"We're not restaurants where people go to eat and satisfy themselves," Gary Klein, the theater trade group's general counsel, said. "It's dinner and a movie, not dinner at a movie."

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2009 survey based on laboratory tests commissioned by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington found that a large popcorn serving contained as much as 1,460 calories — which is the equivalent of eating nearly three McDonald's Big Macs.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-popcorn-20110323,0,3759568.story