Rules of the ‘road food’

“The FTC should make them toe the line,” wrote a reader from Newburgh, Ind. Elizabeth Lordan, a press spokeswoman for the Federal Trade Commission, says that truth-in-advertising laws do apply when restaurants show menu items in print and television ads. Although no specific FTC regulations govern the photos that marketers use to sell food, Section 5 of the FTC Act says that “the net impression of any advertisement—which includes photographs, other graphic elements, and text—must be truthful and non-misleading.”

But the FTC hasn’t pursued any cases alleging that food ads are deceptive based on photos, Lordan said. “That isn’t surprising,” she added. “The commission is unlikely to take law-enforcement actions in cases where consumers can easily evaluate the product, it’s inexpensive, and it’s frequently purchased.”

We asked each company several questions about pictures vs. reality: Is it realistic to expect served food to match its photo? Does the company train employees to make products as pictured? Does it do quality-control checks? What happens if a customer complains that food doesn’t look as expected? Only Subway came close to answering any of them. “All Subway menu items portrayed in our commercials and marketing materials are made to the exact specifications as those found at our 26,000+ restaurants,” said Cindy Carrasquilla, a spokeswoman.