Quezon City Is Implementing A Calorie Count Label For This Reason
The Quezon City Calorie Count Label was signed last March 2024 and will be implemented in three phases starting December 2025
We’ve been told many times about the importance of health and nutrition and its impact in our bodies. With cases of non-communicable diseases (NCD) growing in the country, local governments have been coming up with ordinances in promoting healthy options.
The Quezon City government announced in January that it had formally started implementing the calorie count label, which was signed in March 2024. This ordinance was one step toward food establishments in Quezon City putting labels on their menus starting last December 2025.
How Will The Calorie Count Label Help
According to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, the Calorie Count Label allows city citizens to choose the food served in establishments.
“With this step, our residents will be more empowered. When calorie labels are available on restaurant menus, QCitizens will have the power to choose healthier food options. With the right information, we can also promote a city prioritizing health and nutrition,” Belmonte said in Filipino last January.
QC Health Department Head Dr. Ramona Asuncion DG Abarquez explained that food establishments must put the calorie counts on electronic and printed menu boards. The ordinance will be implemented in three phases.
“In the first year, the ordinance will cover restaurants with five or more branches in Quezon City. In the second year, it will cover restaurants with two or more branches. Then in the third year, it will cover all food businesses in QC.”
Before the implementation, training and guidance will be done among food establishments to ensure that they will have the necessary caloric and nutritional tools and design of the labels that will be posted.
Exempted from the calorie label are small scale enterprises like carinderias, hawkers, and ambulant vendors.
Consultation With Different Stakeholders
Before its implementation, the QC LGU talked to several food business representatives and civil organizations like ImagineLaw about the ordinance. They are also working with Partnership for Healthy Cities, a global network that has 74 cities committed to saving lives by preventing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)—such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer—and injuries.
Although the ordinance takes effect in December, the QC LGU and its partners have been working on information drives to inform QC citizens. This not only tells them the calories or nutrients in their food, but also helps them be cautious of the food they eat.
Guilty or not, many families result in getting fast food to feed their children due to a long day of work and commitments. Now thanks to this ordinance, parents will be able to look into the food they order and eat and also teach kids about the importance of eating right.
With the QC ordinance, it won’t be long until other LGUs may pick up the practice. But since it started only this year, it remains to be seen if it will be followed. Once the implementation is done, other establishments like hotels will follow in the next two phases.
So parents, better brush up on calorie reading and be aware of what you feed your kids.
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