Consumer knowledge and expectations of restaurant menus and their governing legislation: a qualitative assessment

Abstract

Many consumers feel that it is the social responsibility of restaurants to inform them of the nutritional content of food items that may be detrimental to their health or contrary to their beliefs. Current legislation, through the Truth-in-Menu Law, protects consumers from misleading advertisements, but does not mandate that restaurant establishments provide nutritional information. This qualitative study aims to assess how much consumers really know about menu labeling legislation and what information they consider to be most important on restaurant menus. This study found that consumers feel consistency between item description and actual presentation, accuracy of claims, disclosure of ingredients, nutritional information, value and the availability of competent servers to explain any ambiguities were most important. The article concludes with recommendations on where legislation should go and what restaurants can do to provide menus that meet customer expectations.