Information regarding the volume and calories of beverages sold at fast-food chain stores is often missing or incorrect, the John Tung Foundation said yesterday after conducting a survey of 147 branches of seven big-name chains last month.
The survey found that only three out of the seven chains provide calories and nutritional information for seasonal beverages, while 75 percent of the staff at the counters either failed to provide any information or made incorrect statements about beverages’ nutritional values.
“Information provided at different branches of the same chain varied greatly. We also found that nutritional facts posted on some chains’ Web sites are not entirely correct,” said Yu Hsuan–wen (尤宣文), one of the researchers.
Photo courtesy of the John Tung Foundation
According to Sheu Hui-yu (許惠玉), director of the foundation’s food and nutrition division, one large-sized soft drink usually contains more than 100g of sugar, whose caloric value is equal to that of one-and-half bowls of white rice — approximately 400 calories.
“But unlike rice, sugar has no nutritional value other than calories,” she said.
The study also showed that different volume measurement units are adopted by different chains. For example, beverages sold at fast-food giants McDonald’s and KFC are measured in small, medium and large sizes. Other restaurants like Mos Burger, Burger King and Subway use ounces, while TKK Fried Chicken is the only chain that uses milliliters.
Moreover, 41 percent of the staff in Greater Tainan were unaware of the exact volume of the beverages they were serving, the survey showed.
To avoid confusion, the foundation suggested fast-food chains adopt metric measurements like milliliters or cubic centimeters for beverages instead of ounces since Taiwanese are not familiar with the imperial units. Information regarding beverages’ nutrition facts should be made available at each store so that customers can be aware of what they consume, Hui added.
The foundation also urged fast-food restaurants to change the formula of set meals for children.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS