More than half of Romanians, 56%, are interested in the nutritional values of the dishes they order. And most of them are young. Specifically, 7 out of 10 people who say they usually check nutrition facts before ordering are under the age of 35.
Romanians are increasingly interested in why they eat at restaurants – Photo Archive
Only one in ten ignores these details, shows a study carried out by IZI Data, which also mentions that about a third of Romanians eat out every week, and a quarter of respondents order their favorite dishes at home.
We remind you that for almost a year, those in the HoReCa industry must display this information, according to ANPC order 201/2022. That is, the number of calories, the amount of fat, saturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, salt and the list of additives in the preparations.
But only 22% of those surveyed say they have seen this information most of the time, and 42% say they have seen it sometimes, even though it is mandatory.
“We did this study to see how attentive Romanians are to what they eat in town or order at home, and we notice that they are attentive and want to know what they consume, especially in terms of caloric intake, salt, sugar and additives. Also, to raise an alarm signal to HoReCa establishments that have not yet displayed this information to customers. Soon, this will be a selection criterion for the restaurant or location where Romanians will dine”, sent Valentin Krancevik, co-founder of the Valori Nutriționale application.
Good idea, poorly implemented
The problem is that even when exposed, the information can be misleading, Mihaela Posea, specialist in Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, also draws attention.
“The idea is very good, but in reality it is poorly implemented. I have encountered restaurants that did not take these nutrition claims very seriously. Many times, as a doctor, I notice that certain preparations have too many or too few calories, and by correlating the nutritional information and the list of ingredients, I find inconsistencies. For example, a salad appears with 30 calories per hundred grams, and for carbohydrates it appears to have zero, but in the list of ingredients I find oil. The problem is that the recipe was not made correctly, the list of ingredients is one thing, and the nutritional values are another. In this way, I lose faith in the information exposed. Or I have a dish with too many calories, for example, a salad with 300 calories per hundred grams, this means that a 400-gram salad has 1,200 calories, a high value. And I wonder, how much oil can it contain to have that kind of value, which makes me question the nutritional claims“, explained the doctor.
Interested in what they eat
This shows that this information is helpful to the patients they work with.
“Because I can recommend them the number of calories in which they have to fit at a meal, and with the help of the nutritional values displayed on the menu, they can find a product that fits the number of calories, but respects the rules: it must have vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates, it must not be fried and so on“, says Mihaela Posea.
The region where nutritional values are most visible is Transylvania, where 73% of respondents say they have seen this information, while Muntenia, Oltenia and Moldova are at the opposite pole, around 40% of customers say they have not seen the values presented in the menu, the cited study also shows.
