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McDonalds, Dunkin' Donuts top calorie culprits

By Marlene Naanes | mnaanes@am-ny.com

5:11 PM EDT, July 17, 2008

Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's are the top violators of a regulation requiring large chains to post calorie counts on menu boards, according to the latest city data.

Dunkin' Donuts franchises netted 47 violations while McDonald's outlets received 45 at regularly scheduled inspections, according to the data that goes through July 3 and is compiled by the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Health department inspectors also have doled out 252 violations to restaurants not complying with the regulation since it took effect in May 5.

Chain restaurants in New York with 15 or more outposts nationwide are required to post calorie counts on their menu boards, yet until now, a violation had no financial penalty. After midnight on Friday, violators will be assessed fines between $200 and $2,000.

Restaurants such as Starbucks and Chipotle have posted calorie counts en masse at their New York City outlets, but others are waiting for an appeals court to rule on a restaurant industry group's attempt to overturn the regulations.

McDonald's noted that it displays calorie counts in other forms including on line and on tray liners, and that the 249 city restaurants would comply with the regulation starting Friday.

"We remain committed to providing our customers with comprehensive nutrition information on our menu to help them make informed choices whenever and wherever they visit our restaurants," McDonald's spokesman William Whitman said in an e-mailed statement.

Dunkin' Donuts said it also provides nutritional information on brochures and on-line. A spokesman noted that all 400 Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins are franchisees owned by small businesspeople.

"It's unfortunate that these businesspeople are being subjected to rules that don't apply to similar businesspeople in the area," spokesman Stephen J. Caldeira said in a statement. "Unlike in other areas of the countryNew York City contains many different store layouts, so we have had to develop a solution that provides ranges of calories for the different menu items and their various sizes."

He said they're currently "executing" the new menu board "solution" but did not elaborate.