Restaurants are part of the service industry, where customer satisfaction is serious business.
By Mary Parsons, MS, RD
On behalf of every registered dietitian (and the rest of our nutrition enthusiasts) at Healthy Dining, I have to answer this question with a resounding NO! Restaurants are part of the service industry, where customer satisfaction is serious business. We definitely do not consider a request for nutrition information to be impolite. In fact, we encourage restaurant patrons to take an active role in working toward a future where restaurants anticipate this question and have their response ready!
When restaurants make the decision to provide nutrition information for their menu items, they offer the tools we need in order to take personal responsibility for our health and allow us to make informed choices at every meal. And as a restaurant patron, you have the power to encourage the industry in this direction. It’s important for restaurants to know that their guests are interested in nutrition information; if they never hear anyone ask for it, how will they know that we want it?
If you find that your favorite restaurants don’t have nutrition information, you can refer them to Healthy Dining; our team of registered dietitians specializes in nutrition analysis for restaurants. We’re passionate about empowering the public with all the information they need to choose the best foods: from nutrition information, to allergen and gluten identification, to customized healthy menu consultations and our personal selections for the best dietitian-approved menu items on HealthyDiningFinder.com. Like you, we want to see nutrition information on every menu – so don’t be afraid to make yourself heard!