Counting Calories

KEYWORDS:
• FOOD LABELING
• LEGISLATION
• RESTAURANTS

Legislation introduced in the House on May 14 would require display of nutritional information on chain restaurant menus and vending machines.

The Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act (HR 2426 [http://thomas.loc.gov]) would affect businesses with 20 or more restaurant locations and owners of vending machines placed in 20 or more locations. For restaurants, the bill says that each standard menu item must have a statement adjacent to it stating calorie content, grams of saturated fat, trans fat, and carbohydrates, as well as milligrams of sodium. A sign listing calorie content near each article of food or selection button would be required on vending machines.

The bill notes that a number of medical organizations “recommend that there be increased availability of nutrition information for foods eaten and prepared away from home.”