Feeling hungry? Well, here some food for thought.

The federal rules on nutrition labels are shifting to include more information, and the changes will affect everything from fast food to groceries.

In Huntley, Culver's, 13240 Route 47, lays claim to having been at the front of nutrition labeling for its menus for years, said Assistant Manager Richard Myers during a recent interview. “We've had it for years. Long before this became a mandated issue … Culver's was already” providing nutrition information to customers.

Myers said the restaurant chain has provided a printed nutrition guide for its menu for years. Now, he said, “We've enhanced it with the new law's” requirements.

“We're providing a combination of menu items to provide low-calorie, high-nutrition options for our diners,” Myers said. “We've also updated our allergen and nutrition guide.”

The allergen and nutrition guide, he said, is comprehensive, listing not only food allergens, but commonplace ingredients that also might contain such allergens. “It adds a whole new height and depth to our menu,” Myers said.

Culver's guide is available online (click here), so customers can look it over for their preferences before visiting the restaurant.

“The beauty of our menu is everything is made to order,” Myers said. “A lot of people can come in an customize their order to avoid sensitivities” to various foods.

But restaurants are not the only ones affected by nutrition labeling rules. Grocers are also affected.

Jewel Osco launched its nutrition iQ labeling program, according to the company's website. A store manager at the Huntley location, 13200 Village Green Drive, referred calls for an explanation of the program to the company's Itasca office, which did not return an inquiry.

But according to the company's website, the nutrition iQ program features color-coded icons on shelf tags, as well as signs, to give shoppers greater knowledge of the nutritional value of the items they are considering buying.

The signs highlight such attributes of specific food items as "Excellent/good source of fiber," "Helps support healthy digestion," among others.

The color-coded icons represent nutritional content, so it is possible specific items could have more than one. Click on Jewel for details about the color-coded icons.

The program was put together with collaboration of dieticians at the Joslin Clinic, which is part of an academic medical center affiliated with Harvard Medical School in Boston.