Nutrition Labeling in Chain Restaurants …

            Nutrition Labeling in Chain Restaurants
                 State and Local Bills/Regulations ­ 2007-2008
Passed in to law

                           King County (Seattle), Washington
                             http://www.metrokc.gov/health/

Status: On July 19, 2007, the King County Board of Health adopted regulations to require
nutrition disclosure on menus and menu boards at fast-food and other chain restaurants.
In the Washington State Legislature's 2008 session, House Bill 3160, a bill that would
have prohibited local boards of health from adopting restaurant labeling regulations, was
passed out of the House of Representatives. The chair of the Commerce and Labor
Committee urged the King County Department of Health to compromise with the
Washington Restaurant Association (WRA) to avoid state legislation amending or
preempting the King County menu labeling regulations.
        As a result, the King County Board of Health and the WRA negotiated a set of
amendments to the regulations, and the WRA requested that House Bill 3160 not be
moved. On April 17, 2008 the King County Board of Health voted to amend their
regulations. The negotiated regulations will require nutrition disclosure at fast-food and
other chain restaurants by December 31, 2008. Labeling regulations for drive through
menu boards go into effect August 1, 2009.

Summary: The regulations require chain restaurants with fifteen or more national
locations and $1 million in annual sales (collectively for the chain) to display calorie,
saturated fat, sodium, and carbohydrate information for foods and beverages on menus
(or approved methods at the point of ordering including menu inserts, menu appendices,
supplemental menus, or electronic kiosks at each table, as long as the menu prominently
states on each page the location and means by which nutrition information is provided).
If the restaurant uses a menu board, calories must be posted on the board (or other
approved, easily readable sign adjacent to the menu board and visible from the line prior
to the point of ordering). The remaining nutrition information (saturated fat, sodium, and
carbohydrates) must be provided in a plainly visible format at the point of ordering.
Exemptions are provided for items on the menu for less than 90 days; unopened,
prepackaged foods; foods in salad bars, buffet lines, cafeteria service, and other self serve
arrangements; and food served by weight or custom-ordered quantity. Grocery and
convenience stores are also exempt.


                                     New York City
                                    www.nyc.gov/health

Status: On December 5, 2006, the Board of Health adopted regulations amending the
Health Code (§81.50) to require menu labeling. The regulation was to become effective
on July 1, 2007. The regulations were challenged in a lawsuit brought by the New York
State Restaurant Association (NYSRA). On September 11, 2007, a federal judge in the


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United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the
regulations were preempted by 21 U.S.C §343(r) because they applied only to restaurants
that had voluntarily provided calorie information (voluntary claims in restaurants are
regulated at the federal level), as opposed to simply requiring all chain restaurants to post
calorie information, which would not be preempted.
        The New York City Department of Health redrafted their menu labeling
regulations and a revised §81.50 was adopted by the Board of Health on January 22,
2008. The New York State Restaurant Association brought another lawsuit challenging
the new regulations. On April 16, 2008, the same federal judge for the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of New York upheld the New York City Board of Health
regulations ­ ruling that the New York City menu labeling regulations are not preempted
by federal law, nor do they infringe on restaurant's First Amendment rights. The
NYSRA requested a stay to keep the City from enforcing the regulations until an appeal
was heard. The judge denied that request on April 18, 2008. The Second Circuit Court
of Appeals also denied the NYSRA motion for a stay on April 29, 2008. The Court of
Appeals will hear the NYSRA's appeal the week of June 9, 2008.
        The New York City menu labeling regulations went into effect March 31, 2008,
although enforcement only commenced May 5, 2008 due to litigation, and fines for
noncompliant fast-food and chain restaurants will be issued starting July 19, 2008.

Summary: The regulations require food-service establishments, which are part of a chain
of 15 or more restaurants nationally, to list calories for standard menu items on menu
boards, menus, or food item display tags. Font and format used for calorie information
must be at least as prominent in size as is used for the name or price of the menu item.


                             San Francisco City and County
                      http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp

Status: On March 18, 2008, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a menu
labeling ordinance (File No. 071661, Ordinance No. 40-08) that requires nutrition
disclosure on menus, food tags, and posters by July 22, 2008 and menu boards by
September 20, 2008 at fast-food and other chain restaurants.

Summary: This ordinance amends the city's health code to require that calories for
standard menu items be displayed on menu boards and food tags and calories, saturated
fat, carbohydrates, and sodium be displayed on menus in chain restaurants with twenty or
more units in California. Items placed at the counter for general use, alcoholic beverages,
and items that are on the menu for less than 30 days are exempt. This ordinance also
requires chain restaurants to provide calories, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, protein,
fiber, cholesterol, and carbohydrates on posters that are readily visible to customers.
Chain restaurants are required to report annually their nutrition information to the
Department of Public Health, which will make the information available to the public.




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                                 Santa Clara County, CA
                          http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/bnc/

Status: On December 4, 2007, Supervisor Liz Kniss recommended that the
Administration and County Counsel draft a menu labeling ordinance. The draft
ordinance was presented to the Health and Hospital Committee at its April 30, 2008
meeting. On June 3, 2008, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously
passed a menu labeling ordinance, Ordinance No. NS-300.793. The policy goes into
effect September 1, 2008.

Summary: This ordinance adds Chapter XXII to the Santa Clara County Ordinance Code
to require that calories for standard menu items be displayed on menu boards and food
tags and that calories, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium be displayed on
menus in chain restaurants (fourteen or more units in California) located within the
unincorporated areas of the County. For restaurants that use menu boards or food tags,
saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium must be provided in writing at the
point of ordering. Items placed at the counter for general use, alcoholic beverages, and
items that are on the menu for less than 30 days are exempt.


Pending

Cities and Counties
                                        Chicago
                http://www.chicityclerk.com/legislation/guides/index.html

Status: On March 12, 2008, Alderman Edward M. Burke introduced menu labeling
legislation. It was referred to the Committee on Health.

Summary: The ordinance would require food-service establishments, which are part of a
chain of 15 or more restaurants nationally, to list calories for standard menu items on
menu boards, menus, or food item display tags. Font and format used for calorie
information must be at least as prominent in size as is used for the name or price of the
menu item. Supermarkets and convenience stores (establishments with over 75 percent
of their sales from packaged foods) are exempt. The ordinance would be effective 6
months after passage.


                                  District of Columbia
                         http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us

Status: On March 6, 2007 by Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D) introduced the Menu
Education and Labeling Act (B17-0139), co-introduced by Councilmember Marion Barry
(D) and cosponsored by Councilmember Jack Evans (D). It was referred to the Health
Committee.




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Summary: The Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act of 2007 would require
restaurants, which are part of a chain having 10 or more locations nationally, to provide
nutrition information for standard menu items as usually prepared and offered for sale.
On printed menus, the information would include calories, saturated plus trans fat,
carbohydrates, and sodium. Nutrition information on menu boards could be limited to
calories, provided that additional information be made available to customers in writing
upon request. Compliance would be determined within the course of regular health
inspections of food facilities. Inspectors would not be required to verify accuracy of the
nutritional information, but could request documentation of accuracy from corporate
owners.

                            Montgomery County, Maryland
                         http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov

Status: On July 31, 2007, Montgomery County Councilmember George L. Leventhal
introduced legislation which cosponsored by Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg (19-
07). A public hearing was held on September 17, 2007. The bill was voted out of
committee on October 15, 2007.

Summary: The bill would require chain restaurants with at least ten national locations to
display calorie, saturated fat, and sodium for foods and beverages on menus next to or
beneath each menu item in a size and typeface at least as large as the name of the menu item
or its price. If the restaurant uses a menu board, the calories would be posted on the board
and the remaining nutrition information would be provided upon customer request. Only
standard menu items, those on the menu for 30 days or more, would be required to be
labeled. As amended in committee, the menu labeling requirement would take effect on
August 1, 2009.

                                      Philadelphia
                       http://www.phila.gov/citycouncil/index.html

Status: On February 14, 2008, Councilmember Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced a
menu labeling ordinance (No. 080167). The bill was voted out of the Committee on
Public Health and Human Services on April 10, 2008.

Summary: This bill would amend the city's health code to require that calories, saturated
plus trans fat, sodium and carbohydrates be displayed on menus and calories on menu
boards and food tags in restaurants with ten or more units nationally. If a restaurant
serves food in wrappers or boxes, they must display the nutrition information on the
wrapper or box in a clear and conspicuous manner. This legislation would be effective
one year after passage and set a fine of $500 for noncompliance.


                            Westchester County, New York
                    http://www.westchesterlegislators.com/index.htm




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Status: On January 22, 2008, the bill was introduced in the Westchester County Board of
Legislators. The bill has been referred to both the Legislation and Community Services
Committees.

Summary: Chapter 708 would require chain food-service establishments with at least ten
national locations to display calorie information on menu boards and menus next to the
listing of each menu item. With prior approval from the Westchester County Department
of Health, chain food service establishments could use alternative means of making
calorie information available to patrons, as long as the information is available at the
point of purchase and follows the size requirements outlined above. The law would take
effect 180 days after enactment.




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States
                                         Arizona
                                  http://www.azleg.gov

SB1436 Introduced January 29, 2007 by Senator Amanda Aguirre (D). Cosponsored by
Representatives David Bradley, Steven M. Gallardo, Lynne Pancrazi, Phil Lopes,
Theresa Ulmer and Senators Paula Aboud, Meg Burton Cahill, Ken Cheuvront, Albert
Hale, Debbie McCune Davis, Richard Miranda, Charlene Pesquiera, Rebecca Rios,
Victor Soltero.

Status: Referred to the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, the
Committee on Health, and the Committee on Rules.

Summary: This bill would require fast-food and other chain restaurants that have 10
locations nationally and 5 or more locations in Arizona, to post nutrition information for
all standard menu items on menus and menu boards. For printed menus, the bill would
require listing calories, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium per serving.
For menu boards, it would require a minimum of calorie information.


                                       California
                          http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

SB1420: Status: Introduced February 21, 2008 by Senators Alex Padilla (D) and Carol
Midgen (D), with Assembly Member Mark DeSaulnier (D) as principal coauthor. This
bill is a reintroduction of SB120 which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger in
2007. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules for assignment. Voted out
of the Senate Committee on Health on March 27, 2008. Passed by the Senate by a vote
of 21 to 17 on May 22, 2008. Referred to the Assembly. Voted out of the Assembly
Committee on Health by a vote of 10 to 5 on June 17, 2008.
         The predecessor of this bill, SB120, was referred to the Senate Committee on
Health on February 1, 2007, and voted out of that committee on March 14, 2007. Voted
out of Senate Appropriations Committee on April 16, 2007. Passed by the Senate by a
vote of 22 to 17 on May 31, 2007. Referred to the Assembly. Voted out of the Assembly
Health Committee on June 26, 2007. Passed by the Assembly September 10, 2007 by a
vote of 43 to 32. Vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger on October 14, 2007.

Summary: This bill would require fast-food and other chain restaurants that have 15 or
more locations in California to post nutrition information for all standard menu items on
menus and menu boards. For printed menus, the bill would require listing calories,
saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium per serving. For menu boards, the
nutrition information could be limited to calorie information so long as the additional
information is available in writing upon request. The bill would take effect July 1, 2009.




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                                        Connecticut
                                   http://www.cga.ct.gov


SB 686 Introduced January 19, 2007 by Senator Donald Williams (D). Cosponsored by
Senator Mary Ann Handley (D) and Senator Toni Harp (D).

Status: Referred to Joint Committee on Public Health. A public hearing was held on
February 16, 2007. The Joint Committee on Public Health voted to draft the legislation
on March 2, 2007 and voted the legislation out of committee on March 26, 2007. The
Senate passed this bill May 2, 2007 by a vote of 28 to 7. On May 3, 2007 it was sent to
the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Summary: This bill would require retail restaurants and other food establishments with
10 or more locations nationally to list the total number of calories per serving on menus
and menu boards for standard menu items. Restaurants may post a disclaimer on the
menu, or on the menu board, stating that there may be variations in the total number of
calories across servings of menu items.


                                        Hawaii
                              http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov


HB 54 Introduced January 18, 2007 by Representative John Mizuno (D).

Status: Referred to Committees on Health, Consumer Protection and Commerce, and
Finance.

Summary: This bill would require a retail food establishment that is part of a franchise
comprised of ten or more establishments to maintain nutrition information for all standard
menu items and provide it to customers upon request. This information shall include
total number of calories, grams of saturated plus trans fat, carbohydrates, sodium, protein,
and sugar. For restaurants that use only menu boards or serve standard menu items as
self-service (cafeteria, salad bar, or buffet line), they may limit the nutrition information
to calories.


                                         Illinois
                               Website: http://www.ilga.gov

HB 389 Introduced January 26, 2007 by Representative Mary Flowers (D).




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Status: Referred to Health Care Availability and Access Committee where it had a
hearing on March 20th and amended the bill. A Do-Pass motion failed on March 20th.
The bill was then re-referred back to the Rules Committee.

Summary: The Menu Education and Labeling Act would require restaurants and similar
retail food establishments with 10 or more locations nationally to list nutrition
information for all standard menu items on menus and menu boards. On printed menus,
this information shall include total number of calories, saturated plus trans fat,
carbohydrates, and sodium. Nutrition information on menu boards may be limited to
total number of calories per serving, provided additional information shall be made
available to customers in writing upon request.


                                          Iowa
                          Website: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/

SF 2158: Status: Introduced February 12, 2008 by Senator Joe Bolkcom (D). Referred
to the Committee on Human Resources.

Summary: The Menu Education and Labeling Act would require restaurants and retail
food establishments with 20 or more locations statewide to list nutrition information for
all standard menu items on menus and menu boards. On printed menus, this information
shall include total number of calories, saturated plus trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium.
Nutrition information on menu boards may be limited to total number of calories per
serving, provided additional information shall be made available to customers in writing
upon request. The act would take effect on July 1, 2009. Violation of a provision of the
bill would be a simple misdemeanor.


                                       Kentucky
                             Website: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/

SB 211: Status: Introduced March 3, 2008 by Senator Denise Harper Angel (D).
Referred to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

Summary: The Kentucky Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act would require
chain restaurants with 20 or more locations in Kentucky to provide dietary information
on menus and menu boards for all standard food and drink items sold. On printed menus,
this information would include total number of calories, saturated plus trans fat,
carbohydrates, and sodium per serving as usually prepared for sale. On menu boards
nutrition information would be limited to total number of calories and saturated plus trans
fat; provided additional nutrition information about carbohydrates and sodium be made
available to customers in writing upon request.




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                                         Maine
                         Website: http://janus.state.me.us/legis/

LD 1774 Introduced March 29, 2007 by Representative Sean Faircloth (D) and
cosponsored by Senator Brannigan, Representatives Connor, Finley, Miller, Perry,
Pingree, Prescott, and Walcott.

Status: Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services. Failed to pass out of
committee on May 31, 2007 and sent to legislative files for the remainder of the
legislative session.

Summary: The Freedom of Caloric Information Act requires restaurants that are part of
chains with 30 or more locations nationally to provide caloric information for food and
drink items on menus or menu boards adjacent to the listing of the food item in typeface
at least 2/3 as large as other menu information. The bill exempts restaurants that do not
provide menus from the requirements and allows for reasonable variation of calories in
food items from the provided caloric information due to the assembly of items by hand or
changes or substitutions made at the request of the customer.


                                       Massachusetts
                                http://www.mass.gov/legis/

SD 1290 Docket filed January 9, 2007 by Senator Richard Moore (D).

Status: Referred to the Committee on Community Development and Small Business.

Summary: This bill would require chain restaurants with 10 or more locations nationally
to list nutrition information for all standard menu items. On printed menus, this
information shall include total number of calories, saturated and trans fat, carbohydrates,
and sodium per serving. If the restaurant uses only a menu board, it may limit the
nutritional information listed on the menu board to the total number of calories per
serving, provided that additional information be available to customers in writing upon
request. This Act will take effect twelve months after passage.


                                        Michigan
                                http://house.michigan.gov

HB 4791 Introduced May 17, 2007 by Representative Lee Gonzales (D). Cosponsored
by Representatives Fred Miller (D), Gino Polidori (D), Dudley Spade (D), and Aldo
Vagnozzi (D).




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Status: Referred to the Committee on Health Policy.

Summary: This bill would require food service establishments to disclose the caloric
value of each food and meal on their menu or on table tents in at least 11-point font size,
or be visually equivalent to the font size of the menu item descriptions, in a color that
contrasts clearly with the background.


                                        New Jersey
                                http://www.njleg.state.nj.us

A1407: Status: Introduced January 8, 2008 by Assemblyman Douglas H. Fisher (D).
Cosponsored by Assembly Members John J. Burzichelli (D), Joan M. Quigley (D),
Gordon M. Johnson (D), Reed Gusciora (D), John F. McKeon (D) and Joan M. Voss (D).
Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee.

Summary: This bill would require retail food establishments with 20 or more locations in
New Jersey to list nutrition information for all standard food and beverage items sold.
On printed menus, this information would include calories, saturated and trans fat,
carbohydrates, and sodium per serving, as usually offered for sale. On menu boards,
calories per serving would be listed adjacent to each item, and information about
saturated and trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium would be made available to customers
upon request. This Act would take effect 180 days after passage.


                                       New Mexico
                                  http://legis.state.nm.us

HB 1203 Introduced February 26, 2007 by Representative Irvin Harrison.

Status: Referred to the House Business & Industry Committee and the House Health and
Government Affairs Committee

Summary: The "Trans Fat Act," which require restaurants with either 1.) three or more
locations in New Mexico, or 2.) owned or managed by a New Mexico resident to post
trans-fat content and calorie information of all standard menu items on their menus or
menu boards by July 1, 2007. Restaurants also would be required to limit use of trans fat
to 0.5 gram per serving by July 1, 2008.


                                         New York
                              http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/

A 729 Amended and reintroduced May 9, 2008 by Assembly Members Ortiz (D), with
cosponsors Cook (D), Gabryszak (D), Galef (D), Gottfried (D), Koon (D), LaFayette (D),
Mayersohn (D), and P. Rivera (D); and multi-sponsored by Boyland (D), Brennan (D),



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Clark (D), D. Gordon (D), Greene (D), Hooper (D), Lavine (D), Lifton (D), Maisel (D),
Markey (D), Pheffer (D), J. Rivera (D), Towns (D), Weisenberg (D), and Young (D).


Status: Introduced January 3, 2007. Read once and referred to the Committee on Health.
Passed out of the Health Committee on June 5, 2007 and referred to the Committee on
Codes. Amended June 12, 2007 and recommitted to the Committee on Codes. Defeated
in the Codes committee on June 20, 2007.
        Referred to the Committee on Health on January 9, 2008. Amended and
recommitted to the Committee on Health on May 9, 2008. Passed out of the Health
Committee on May 20, 2008 and referred to the Committee on Codes. Passed out of the
Committee on Codes on June 17, 2008 and referred to the Committee on Rules.

Summary: This bill would require chain restaurants with 15 or more locations nationally
and 5 or more locations in New York State to list calorie information for all standard
menu items on printed menus and menu boards or signs. The total number of calories per
menu item must be listed adjacent to each item in a size or typeface at least as large as the
name or price of the menu item. This Act will take effect six months after passage.

S 3787 Introduced March 16, 2007 by Senator Kemp Hannon (R).

Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health.

Summary: This bill would require chain restaurants with 10 or more locations nationally
and 5 or more locations in New York State to list nutrition information for all standard
menu items. On printed menus, this information shall include total number of calories,
grams of saturated and trans fat, grams of carbohydrates, and milligrams of sodium per
serving as usually prepared and offered for sale. On menu boards, the total number of
calories per serving must be listed adjacent to each item, and information about grams of
saturated fat and trans fat, grams of carbohydrates, and milligrams of sodium shall be
made available to customers upon request. This Act will take effect six months after
passage.


                                     Pennsylvania
                          Website: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/

HB 1108 Introduced April 18, 2007 by Representatives Bishop (D), Cohen (D),
Creighton (R), Curry (D), D. Evans (D), Freeman (D), Haluska (D), Hornaman (D),
James (D), Kirkland (D), Leach (D), Mann, (D), Myers (D), Parker (D), Youngblood (D),
and Siptroth (D).

Status: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Summary: The Restaurant Display of Dietary Information Act would require food
establishments that are part of a chain of 20 or more locations nationally under the same



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name to provide nutrition information on menus. In restaurants that use menu boards,
only caloric information must be provided and it must be similar to and as easy to read as
other menu board information and displayed adjacent to the food item listing. In
restaurants that use menus, the nutrition information must be similar to the categories of
nutrition information provided on packaged foods sold in grocery stores and must be
similar in size and typeface to other information about each menu item and must be
displayed adjacent to the listing of the food item. In restaurants that deliver food,
nutrition information must be provided on wrappers and boxes used to deliver food and
drink items to customers and the nutrition information must be displayed in a size,
arrangement and typeface similar to that of nutrition information on packaged foods sold
in grocery stores.


                                      Tennessee
                            http://www.legislature.state.tn.us

SB 1696 ­ Introduced February 8, 2007 by Senator Roy Herron (D).

Status: Referred to the General Subcommittee of the Commerce, Labor and Agriculture
Committee on March 28, 2007.

Summary: This bill would require any food-service establishment to post on menu
boards and menus, in a size and typeface at least as large as the name of the menu item or
price, the calorie content values for menu items that are served in standardized portions
and for which calorie content information is made publicly available on or after July 1,
2007, by or on behalf of the food service establishment serving the items. This bill
authorizes the department of health to approve alternative means for making calorie
information available to patrons, provided that calorie information is made available at
the point of purchase and is at least as prominent as the disclosure methods required for
menus and menu boards.


                                       Vermont
                          Website: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/

H 477 Introduced March 1, 2007 by Representative Koch (R).

Status: Referred to the Committee on Human Services.

Summary: This bill would require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations nationally
to list nutrition information for all standard menu items. On printed menus, this
information shall include total number of calories, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and
sodium per serving. On menu boards, the total number of calories per serving must be
listed adjacent to each item, and information about saturated fat, carbohydrates, and
sodium shall be made available to customers in writing upon request.




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                                   Washington State
                http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6505

Status: On January 17, 2008 Senator Rodney Tom introduced legislation that would
require nutrition disclosure on menus and menu boards at fast-food and other chain
restaurants. Referred to Committee on Health and Long-Term Care.

Summary: The law would require chain restaurants with more than ten national locations
and $1 Million in annual sales to display calorie, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, and
carbohydrate information for foods and beverages on menus. If the restaurant uses a
menu board, the calories would be posted on the board and the remaining nutrition
information would be provided in a plainly visible format at the point of ordering. Only
standard menu items, those on the menu for 60 days or more, would be required to be
labeled ­ occasional "specials" are exempt.




                                                                         6/25/2008




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