Leading the pack is Yum Brands, parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. Yum senior vice president Jonathan Blum disclosed the information to USA Today ahead of the firm's formal announcement Wednesday. "We're a leader... We hope all restaurants, supermarkets and convenience stores follow our lead," Blum told USA Today.
Blum said about 4,000 of Yum's company-owned outlets will have the calorie counts on menus beginning Wednesday, while all its 20,000 stores in the U.S. will post the nutritional data by Jan. 1, 2011, the same deadline set by California for all restaurant chains in the state to have calorie data on their menu.
Yum, which also owns Long John Silver's and A & W All American Foods, will stop airing commercials on TV shows for children below 12, Blum added. He said Yum will encourage its franchisees to also include the calorie information on their menu boards.
The voluntary move earned the praise of Stanford University nutrition instructor Jo Ann Hattner and Center for Science in the Public Interest executive director Michael Jacobson.
Other fast food chains such as McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King, though, are not keen on following Yum's footstep.
