BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhuanet) -- In an action that will make it more difficult for New Yorkers to know the calorie content of their hamburgers, subs and fries, U.S. fast-food chains Quiznos, Wendy's and White Castle have removed nutritional information from some restaurants on their websites to avoid posting it on menus in the Big Apple.

    The move was a response to a new regulation that will make the city the first in the country to require restaurants to list calorie counts next to the price on their menu boards.

    In an attempt to make the rule applicable only to big, national fast-food chains, health officials said the regulation would apply only to restaurants that were already making calorie information available voluntarily.

    Restaurants objected, saying the rule would clutter menu boards with health data already available elsewhere and shut down their websites prior to the March 1 deadline.

    Wendy's International Inc. pulled all information on calories from posters and fliers at its New York eateries. Quiznos and White Castle deactivated the pages on their website that offered all types of nutritional information.

    "We fully support the intent of this regulation," Wendy's said in a statement on its website. "However, since most of our food is made-to-order, there isn't enough room on our existing menu boards to comply with the regulation."

    White Castle executives did not return phone calls Friday, but the company's marketing director, Jamie Richardson, told The New York Sun the company removed nutritional posters and brochures from New York restaurants as a temporary defensive measure.

    "We wanted to allow ourselves as much flexibility as possible and ultimately work through a solution that is as customer-friendly as possible," Richardson said.

    Quiznos said in a statement its change was also temporary, pending the company's development of a "long-term nutritional information strategy."

    "Quiznos recognizes that nutrition is an important topic in our health-conscious society and that the recent New York City Board of Health amendments point to a growing trend that we need to address," the company said.

    The changes brought a tart response from Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden.

    "If some restaurants stop displaying calorie information to avoid making it useful to customers, we should wonder what they're so ashamed of," he said in a statement.

    In the meantime, Wendy's said it had replaced its old nutritional information posters with new ones that still provide nutritional information on fats, carbohydrates and sugars, but leave out calorie counts.

    New Yorkers who still want the full scoop on Wendy's burgers can check the company's website, which still had the info up Friday.

    (Agencies)