Major Fast Food Outlets Required to Disclose the Number of Calories in their Food by 2012.

Businesses with more than 200 outlets across Australia, or with 50 in Victoria, will have to display the amount of calories in their food under new Victorian State Government legislation by 2012.

As people order their Big Mac or bucket of crispy chicken, they will be able to see on the menu or on the display board how many kilojoules come with it. (Note: 1 calorie equals 4.2 kilojoules).

Victorian Premier John Brumby says his government is making it compulsory to display the details in a bid to cut down the rate of diabetes and obesity.

'The reason we are doing this is because we have a runaway epidemic in Victoria, right across Australia, particularly with diabetes,' Mr Brumby told reporters.

He said there are up to 270,000 Victorians with diabetes, with a further 20,000 becoming diabetic every year.

'This is a runaway train and we need to drag it back - the best way is by healthier eating and giving consumers information about their eating choices.' Mr Brumby said.

'Many people don't realise that if you eat a big hamburger, with a big coke and a big bag of chips that will be around half of your daily food intake.'

'Many people also don't realise the calories in a large Coke, almost 1,000kj or 20 teaspoonfuls of sugar.' Mr Brumby continued.

Health groups also support the move.

VicHealth Chief Executive Officer, Todd Harper said the plan was likely to be followed by other states.

'I have no doubt it will be popular initiative with consumers and hope that fast food outlets that fall under the threshold will voluntarily adopt it.' Mr Harper said.

'Until now, fast food companies have managed to keep kilojoule counters out of their displays but the time has come to put health first.'

Jane Martin, Senior Policy Adviser for the Obesity Policy Coalition, says clearer labelling on menus will help consumers 'sort the fat from fiction at a glance.'

'Many consumers would be surprised to find that some seemingly innocuous items such as frappes and smoothies contain one quarter of an adult's recommended daily energy intake,' Ms Martin said in a statement.

'To make matters worse many products with healthy sounding names are at the top of the worst offenders list.'

She says some of the highest kilojoule products have names such as Blueberry Blast, Garden Goodness and Green Tea Venti.

'While some of these products contain valuable nutrients, few people would realise that there's less than a 100 kilojoules difference between a Big Mac and the McDonald's Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad,' she said.

Story courtesy of Bigpond News.