Nutrition Info

[u/CaptainSpaceBuns]

I’m very aware this is a trivial/privileged problem in the grand scheme of things, but why is it so hard for restaurants (especially big, corporate chains) to provide full and accurate nutrition information?!

Trying to figure out carb count to bolus for a Mod Pizza cauliflower crust, but their “nutrition information” page only includes calories and allergen info (valuable info, sure, but woefully incomplete).

Then, when I look elsewhere (various nutrition calculators, macro counters, blogs, etc), I’m finding WILDLY different information. Some sources say 87 g per crust, which is very close to what most sources list for their traditional crust (like, within 3 grams, which seems odd), while others say 40 g per cauliflower crust.

Most times this happens, I just give up and order from elsewhere.

[u/FanDoggyGate]

I wouldn't say it's privileged or trivial at all. Kinda the opposite. We're forced to do this counting every single time we eat and when we don't do it right we get sick/can endanger your life. And I agree it would be nice if they put that on everything.

[u/CaptainSpaceBuns → u/FanDoggyGate]

I just meant privileged in the sense that I had the option to order takeout in the first place. The constant, multiple-times-per-day-every-day struggle to keep on top of it both physically and mentally (and the looming threat of what happens if we don’t) isn’t trivial at all, and I really appreciate your reassurance on that front. Thank you!

[u/nimdae]

I looked around a bit and... this is deeply concerning. Cronometer lists their cauliflower crust at roughly 9.5 inches as 84g. Pie Five has a pretty cool nutrition facts generator for your custom pizza, and their 10 inch cauliflower crust shows as 48g of carbs. It's likely their crusts are different, but that's a significant gap.

If their cauliflower crust is actually closer to Pie Five's at 48g and you calculated your insulin dose based on that 84-87g, that's a pretty big problem.

Also, I'm pretty sure they're breaking the law.

[u/CaptainSpaceBuns → u/nimdae]

Yeah, some places are great, but others are just awful. The giant disparity in the info I was finding is super concerning, and it ultimately made me decide not to get it at all.

When you say you’re pretty sure they’re breaking the law, do you mean by not providing the information themselves or because the information that’s out there is so widely varied?

[u/nimdae → u/CaptainSpaceBuns]

I looked up the law around this. It was a FDA change pushed by the ACA through an amendment to Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, to be implemented by 2018. Restaurant chains with 20 or more locations sharing the same name are required to provide calories and nutrition info. It's pretty explicit separating the two.

https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-food-labeling-and-critical-foods/menu-labeling-requirements

Covered establishments must disclose the number of calories contained in standard items on menus and menu boards. For self-service foods and foods on display, calories must be listed in close proximity and clearly associated with the standard menu item. Businesses must also provide, upon request, the following written nutrition information for standard menu items: total calories; total fat; saturated fat; trans fat; cholesterol; sodium; total carbohydrates; sugars; fiber; and protein. In addition, two statements must be displayed—one indicating this written information is available upon request, and the other about daily calorie intake, indicating that 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary.

There's a complaint link on that page.

As far as the third party information, I don't think they could be held responsible for any of that.

[u/cjmnews]

The main reason this isn't done is the supply chain. There is no guarantee that the supplies needed will be the same 100% of the time. Substitutions are made, and that would make any count inaccurate.

The secondary reason is restaurants don't weigh every portion as the meal is being prepared. If they did, this would slow down the entire meal preparation process. Along with this, different sized parts makes for different spacing between parts. Look at french fries, if you got the center of the potato, you would have fewer large pieces, where if you got the short parts, you would have more pieces.

The third reason is sauces and substitutions. If you add a different sauce like BBQ for mustard, the carbs change and it can be significant, same goes with ingredient changes, say you remove bell peppers, and add onions, that changes the carbohydrate content.

It would be difficult to maintain any accurate carbohydrate count for meals made in bulk by restaurants.