Carb contents in restaurants, parliament petition

I don't think people are really thinking of what this would mean to small local businesses which we are told these days to support. If it became compulsory for them to list the carb contents of every meal they serve it would not be possible to do that and they would have to close down. Is that what we want for people to loose their business and employees to loose their jobs just so we can know the carb content of a meal I don't so sorry I will not sign the petition

Signed.

I try to support local businesses as much as i can and prefer to go to local restaurants rather than bigger chains. I would hate people to lose their jobs or livelihoods for me! Would ingredients lists being made available on request be a compromise? That way, could any carbs be guessed/worked out by sight and any sauces etc you could check ingredients before making a choice? As i have said in a previous post, maybe i am a bit too careful with carb counting while out.

Yep - I eyeball, inject what I think is less than I will need and then test in about 90 minutes.

Most of the places I eat in would have to close if this became law; they are small, family run businesses and profit margins are minimal. Any extra costs would push them under. I'd rather guestimate my insulin and be off sometimes than have nowhere to eat except the big (usually horrendous) chains. In my town the small, privately run places do excellent, delicious food and I'd miss them.

Also - does your local Chinese restaurat/takeaway list carb content, or the local Indian restaurant that you prefer? Wave bye-bye to meals delivered to your door if this law came in. Or - the prices would go up - a LOT!

I did sign the petition last night but was looking at it from a purely selfish point of view rather than as a whole topic. After reading the comments/views, i find i am agreeing with not having the carbs on the menu for small businesses. The town centres and high streets are empty enough without more having to close because of this. I will be guessing, injecting and correcting if needed from now on

Imagine the problem in a fish and chip shop, a portion of chips would have to be weighed and working out the amount of batter on the fish would be almost impossible. Incidentally I read that the labelling of calories in chain restaurants in the US had resulted in some people choosing the highest calorie meals, presumably to get best "value" for money.

Sorry. If this were possible I would love this as much as the next person, but it is actually counter-productive.

This isn't about the expense or logistics, or about how hard it is to keep servings that consistent. (Which are all insane.)

This is about the simple fact that people will make numbers up and nobody will police it. I mean, what, are you going to have officers do random spot checks of restaurants all over the country? (And how many menu items will they sample?)

So it would be dangerous for less-educated people with diabetes who wouldn't realise how unreliable the numbers are, and everyone else would ignore them.

Where does the line blur? Simply absurd in its complexity.

(edited by mod)

Mike D said:

Where does the line blur? Simply absurd in its complexity.

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For some type 1s the margins of error with carb counts are quite small and they have no hope of good sugars without knowing what's going on in the kitchen. (Nonetheless this "solution" is absurd.)

(edited by mod to remove reference to edited post)

I think you just agreed with me ... and regardless, it wasn't a T1 or T2 answer (or anyone for that matter), simply how hopelessly difficult it would be to administer.

Mike D said:

Where does the line blur? Simply absurd in its complexity.

Click to expand...

The OP is a parent who has been told she needs to accurately dose insulin for carb intake. She has probably witnessed at least one hypo and I can imagine any parent would be anxious to avoid that distressing situation especially when out and about. Personally I am more relaxed about dosing now I am on minimal doses for low carb but think that for major chains who already have this information about their standard products, it would not be a stretch though rather than a publication an online app could be used....
Eventually kids take over their own dosing and get the hang of it ( more of an art than a science) but why not publish data that is available already?
I'd agree that this would not be necessary for a non insulin dependent type 2 and would not support labeling for anything other than genuine food allergies and carb counts.

(edited by mod to remove reference to edited post)

NicoleC1971 said:

The OP is a parent who has been told she needs to accurately dose insulin for carb intake. She has probably witnessed at least one hypo and I can imagine any parent would be anxious to avoid that distressing situation especially when out and about. Personally I am more relaxed about dosing now I am on minimal doses for low carb but think that for major chains who already have this information about their standard products, it would not be a stretch though rather than a publication an online app could be used....
Eventually kids take over their own dosing and get the hang of it ( more of an art than a science) but why not publish data that is available already?
I'd agree that this would not be necessary for a non insulin dependent type 2 and would not support labeling for anything other than genuine food allergies and carb counts.

Click to expand...

I know what is was like when my granddaughter was diagnosed very young, I was always trying to make sure she had the right amount of carbs for the Insulin, it was fixed doses in the earlier years, she is nearly 11 now and carb counts.