NYC adds new warning symbol to restaurant menus - and it's targeting your sweet tooth

New York City has added another warning to its restaurant menus - this time for sugar. 

A new symbol showing a white spoon inside a black triangle now appears on menus at chain restaurants across the Big Apple, marking items that contain over 50 grams of sugar, the daily limit recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

New York is the first U.S. city to require such a warning at chain restaurants, though the rule applies only to certain menu items.

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"Through this rule, we aim for New Yorkers to have more insight into the amount of sugar in certain products to make more informed choices," Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse said in a statement.

The law, passed in 2023, took effect Oct. 4; it covers nearly 4,000 New York City restaurants that are part of chains with 15 or more locations. The NYC Department of Health (DOH) said it alerted operators through emails, inspection notices and an online guidance page and will begin issuing $200 fines in January.

Menus also have to include a note explaining the symbol. 

"Eating or drinking high amounts of added sugars over time can increase risk of Type 2 diabetes, weight gain and tooth decay," the warning reads.

The DOH said if an item is sold both prepackaged and freshly made under the same brand name and promoted as the same product, each of them must carry the warning icon. That means a bottled milkshake or slice of cheesecake sold in stores and its restaurant counterpart could both require a warning icon, but made-to-order items like a McFlurry or Shake Shack shake would not.

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Combo meals that total 50 grams or more of added sugars and shared desserts with that amount per serving must also display the icon.

Carine Nassar, a registered dietitian who focuses on diabetes and metabolism for MedStar Health in Washington, D.C., said the new icons could help consumers make healthier choices.

Fifty grams of sugar is a good place to start, Nassar added, but lowering the threshold in the future would make sense, she said. 

"If several items containing close to 50 milligrams of added sugar are consumed per day, you can see how the daily limit will be easily exceeded," she told Fox News Digital.

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Research has found, however, that attempts to nudge patrons toward healthier habits have had mixed results, and some critics say New York's small spoon symbol may not catch customers' attention.

Some customers told local news outlet Gothamist they didn't notice the icon and that, even if they did, their orders likely would have remained the same. The new icon only has to be as big as the largest letter of the food item's name as displayed on the menu or tag.

Studies have found that while sugar, calorie and sodium warning labels make people more aware of unhealthy menu items, they have little impact on changing most customers' choices. 

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A 2020 study found that more than 1 in 5 fast-food customers still bought sugary drinks with at least 200 calories, about a day's worth of added sugar.

Online critics also questioned the rule's impact.

"No benefit to the public," one man wrote on the city's public comments page. He added that applying the rule only to chains, not to all restaurants, bodegas or food carts, is "unfair."

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"This is another potential regulation that will only yield $$ when city inspectors visit franchise restaurants," he wrote.

On a city DOH Facebook post, one woman wrote, "Do they really think most people care how much sugar is in their fast food?" 

Other studies have found that people tend to be more discerning about sugar and nutrition when shopping at grocery stores than when eating out.

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Sapana Grossi, managing partner at the Shah Grossi Law Firm in Los Angeles, represents restaurants and chefs. She said the change will likely force some establishments to reformulate items to avoid adding the warning.

"Of course, restaurants will have the burden and added expense of redesigning menus and adjusting their operations and disclosures," Grossi told Fox News Digital.

She added that some will argue it is regulatory overreach. "However, given the public health benefits, it is a true balancing act."

Nassar said other cities will likely gauge New York City's response before following suit.

The DOH told Fox News Digital it designed the requirements to "strike a balance," ensuring the warning is visible while avoiding an undue burden on restaurant operators. Officials said they are consulting with academic researchers who plan to evaluate whether the warnings influence purchasing decisions.