Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Calories on Menus All Across America?


I've certainly blogged before that it's not a matter of if but rather a matter of when the posting of calories on menu boards becomes a country-wide federal law.

Well as of a few weeks ago, the United States are a few steps closer with the introduction of the LEAN (Labeling Education and Nutrition) act by Delaware Senator Tom Carper and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. This bipartisan bill would require that,

"restaurants and grocery stores that serve prepared foods and have 20 or more locations to disclose calories for each menu item so that consumers can see such information before they order their meal. Under the bill, calories will be posted directly on the menu, menu board or in one of the approved alternative ways, such as a menu insert or a sign directly next to the menu board."
Good luck Senators!

UPDATE:
Sorry I didn't notice it sooner. The reason the Food Industry is supporting this bill is that it would not in fact require calories to be posted directly on menus or menuboards and if passed it would pre-empt more stringent local, county and state labeling laws. Consequently I can't recommend or endorse it.

Poor luck Senators!