WASHINGTON -- Beginning this week, about 5 million vending machines nationwide are required to display calorie information as a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
The new rules apply to more than 10,000 vending machines companies nationwide that operate 20 or more machines, according to a CNN report.
The result will be similar to calorie count menus in restaurants; customers will see the calories next to their snack choice. The Food and Drug Administration hopes this will help consumers go for alternatives and stick to their new year’s resolutions. But the program won’t be cheap, according to the report; the FDA estimates it’s going cost the industry about $25.8 million, and maybe $24 million every year after that.
However the, FDA points out that if just 0.2% of obese adults ate 100 fewer calories a week, it would save $24 million or more a year in annual health-care costs.
Analysts said candy sellers are expected to only see a minor impact from the new vending-machine regulations, while soda sellers could face a bigger challenge.
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