YUM! Brands Announced U.S. Divisions Will Place Calories on All Company Restaurant Menu Boards
Calls for Federal Legislation To Establish Uniform Menu Board Labeling
October 01, 2008 // Franchising.com // Louisville, KY, – Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) today announced that its U.S. divisions, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and A&W All-American Food, will become the first national restaurant chains to begin voluntarily placing product calorie information on their respective menu boards in company-owned restaurants nationwide. Franchisees will be encouraged to provide the same information on their menu boards. Calorie information will be based on individual serving sizes and will be phased onto menu boards beginning this year and completed by January 1, 2011. The Company also will call for federal legislation using the recently-enacted legislation in California as a model to establish uniform guidelines for menu board labeling with calorie information.
Each of the Company's brands currently offers lower calorie "Better For You" menu options (see attached list). Its Taco Bell restaurants offer a Fresco Menu, including nine items with nine grams of fat or less, many of which are lower calorie options. KFC currently offers lower calorie Sandwiches, Snackers, side items, salads and Tender Roast Chicken, and plans to introduce Kentucky Grilled Chicken early next year. Pizza Hut currently offers a number of lower calorie menu options, including Fit 'N Delicious lower fat pizzas, and will begin offering The Natural in December, a pizza made with all natural ingredients, including a multigrain crust, all natural old world sauce, all natural mozzarella cheese and natural toppings free from artificial colors, flavors or preservatives such as naturally-preserved Italian sausage, pepperoni without added nitrates and nitrites and 100% real beef with no fillers. Long John Silver's will begin offering a new Freshside Grille menu next month, which features grilled shrimp, salmon and tilapia, along with mixed vegetables and rice.
As part of a broader Health and Wellness effort across the United States, the Company also announced a new policy not to advertise its products on television programs specifically aimed at children under 12 years old. It also will continue to provide full nutritional information on its Web sites and in brochures, available upon request, at its restaurant drive-thru windows and in-store ordering counters. Additionally, the Company will launch national on-line exercise programs, featuring renowned University of Louisville men's basketball Coach Rick Pitino, to help educate consumers about maintaining a balanced lifestyle. In early 2007, both Taco Bell and KFC were pioneers in switching to cooking oils with zero grams trans fat per serving. Each of the company's brands is looking at ways to reduce sodium and making continuous improvements to the nutritional profile of its products.
"We believe we have a continued responsibility to offer "Better For You" options, educate consumers about the foods they eat, and promote exercise so they can maintain a balanced lifestyle," said Jonathan Blum, Yum! Brands chief public affairs officer. "Our customers have told us they would find calorie information useful, along with other nutritional information we make accessible in restaurant brochures and on our Web sites. We now call on the U.S. Congress to enact federal legislation that would create uniform menu board guidelines for all who sell prepared food so there is a consistent way to educate the public about the nutritional value of the food they eat."
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) praised Yum! Brands for adding calorie counts to its menu boards. "Yum! Brands groundbreaking announcement that it will add calorie counts to the menu boards at KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell is fabulous news for health-conscious consumers. Yum! is leaping ahead of all its competitors by providing the one piece of nutrition information that consumers most want. We applaud this move and encourage other major chains to follow this bold example. Yum! has gone an important step further by voicing its support for legislation that would require restaurants to list calories on menus and menu boards," added Michael Jacobson, CSPI executive director. "This announcement that calories will be displayed on menu boards deserves loud applause," said Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University's School of Public Health. "Yum! Brand's call for national legislation to create uniform menu board guidelines on nutrition is greatly appreciated. It is exactly the kind of industry leadership that we need."
The Company's restaurant brands currently offer Lower Calorie "Better for You" Menu Options, for example:
KFC Lower Calorie Options Calories per Serving
(available nationally)
KFC Snacker, Original Recipe(R) 270
KFC Snacker, Honey BBQ 210
HBBQ Dipping Wings (5) 390
Hot Wings (5) 350
Chicken Breast, Original Recipe(R) (without skin) 140
Drumstick, Original Recipe(R) 110
Original Recipe(R) Strips (2) 190
Green Beans - side 50
Mashed Potatoes (without gravy) - side 100
Mashed Potatoes (with gravy) - side 120
Corn on the Cob (3") - side 70
(available at participating restaurants)
Roasted Chicken BLT Salad with Fat Free ranch 235
Honey BBQ Sandwich 300
Tender Roast Twister (no sauce) 340
Tender Roast Sandwich (no sauce) 290
Tender Roast Toasted Wrap 319
Taco Bell Lower Calorie Options Calories per Serving
(available nationally)
Fresco Crunchy Taco 150
Fresco Grilled Steak Soft Taco 160
Fresco Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco 170
Crunchy Taco 170
Spicy Chicken Soft Taco 170
Fresco Soft Taco 180
Crunchy Taco Supreme(R) 200
Soft Taco Supreme(R) - Beef 240
Grilled Steak Soft Taco 260
Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco 270
Gordita Nacho Cheese – Steak 270
Gordita Supreme(R) -Steak 270
Gordita Supreme(R) -Chicken 280
Gordita Nacho Cheese -Chicken 280
Mexican Rice 110
Pintos 'n Cheese 160
Pizza Hut Lower Calorie Options Per slice
(1 slice = 1/8 pizza)
(made to order upon request)
12" Medium Fit 'N Delicious Pizza
- Diced Chicken, Red Onion, Green Pepper 180
- Ham, Pineapple & Diced Red Tomato 160
- Green Pepper, Red Onion & Diced Red Tomato 150
14" Large Fit 'N Delicious Pizza
- Diced Chicken, Red Onion, Green Pepper 250
- Ham, Pineapple and Diced Red Tomato 230
- Green Pepper, Red Onion & Diced Red Tomato 210
12" Medium Thin 'N Crispy Pizza
- Green Pepper, Red Onion & Tomato 180
- Chicken, Red Onion & Green Pepper 190
- Ham, Pineapple & Diced Tomato 180
14" Large Thin 'N Crispy Pizza
- Cheese Only 260
- Green Pepper, Red Onion & Diced Tomato 250
- Chicken, Red Onion, & Green Pepper 270
- Ham, Pineapple & Diced Tomato 260
- Pepperoni & Mushroom 270
12" Medium Hand Tossed
- Cheese Only 220
- Pepperoni 220
- Ham and Pineapple 210
- Veggie Lover's 200
Long John Silver's Lower Calorie Menu Options Calories per Serving
(available nationally)
Battered Fish 230
Baked Cod 120
Battered Shrimp 45/each
Giant Shrimp 90/each
Chicken Plank 140
Shrimp & Seafood Salad (without dressing) 260
Lite Italian Dressing 20
Hushpuppies – side 60/each
Lobster Stuffed Crab Cake 170/each
Corn Coblette – side 90
Cheesesticks 140
Rice 180
A&W All-American Food Lower Calorie Menu Options
(available nationally)
1/4 lb. Hamburger 460
Grilled Chicken Sandwich 430
Hot Dog (plain) 260
Coney (Chili) Dog 310
Coney (Chili)/Cheese Dog 350
Cheese Dog 320
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Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants, with nearly 36,000 restaurants in over 100 countries and territories. The company is ranked #253 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues in excess of $10 billion in 2007. Four of the company's restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver's – are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza, Mexican-style food and quick-service seafood categories, respectively. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened about four new restaurants each day of the year, making it the largest retail developer in the world. The company has consistently been recognized for its reward and recognition culture, diversity leadership, community giving, and consistent shareholder returns. Since its spin-off as a publicly traded company in 1997, its stock has quintupled. Last year, the company launched the world's largest private sector hunger relief effort, in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme and other hunger relief agencies. This effort helped save over 1.6 million people from starvation in remote corners of the world, where hunger is most prevalent.
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