Lawmakers in New York and Massachusetts are looking to enact statewide menu-labeling measures, just three months after California became the first state to require the disclosure of nutrition information at chain restaurants.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday unveiled a new anti-obesity campaign that includes a menu-labeling provision. According to a report in the Boston Globe, the provision would require chain restaurants with 15 or more units to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards. The state’s Public Health Council is expected to approve the proposal next week and a final vote would follow a public comment period, the Globe reported.
In New York, Gov. David Paterson, in his State of the State address Wednesday, called for a statewide menu-labeling measure that would require chain restaurants to post caloric content on their menus and menu boards. Patterson also called for a ban on trans fats in restaurants, a tax on sugared beverages, such as soda, and the discontinuation of “junk food” sales in schools as part of his Healthy Food/Healthy Communities Initiative. No timeframe has been set for implementing the proposals.
“I haven’t seen anything in writing,” said Rick Sampson, president of the New York State Restaurant Association. He noted that many chains already are making nutrition information available on the Internet and table tents. “That’s something the industry can live with,” he said. The government needs “to give the chain flexibility to give the information the way it sees fit. That has always been our argument.
“We hope we’re included in the decision about how it is rolled out and how it operates,” he continued. “Let's sit down and come up with something that works for all of us.”
If enacted in Massachusetts, the menu-labeling rule is expected to affect some 2,000 restaurants statewide, according to the Globe.
Officials at Dunkin’ Brands, which is based in Canton, Mass., and is parent to the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands, said Patrick’s menu-labeling proposal was ill-timed.
“The increasingly complex, highly localized regulatory approach to menu labeling is both costly and disruptive to our franchisees and our business, especially in these challenging and increasingly uncertain economic times,” said Steve Caldeira, spokesman for Dunkin’ Brands.
Caldeira noted that the company understands and embraces its “responsibility to disclose health-related public information.” However, he added, “The proposed Massachusetts regulations focus on big chainsÉ Despite being global brands, all of our shops are franchised -- meaning they are independently owned and operated mostly by small businesspeople.”
On Sept. 30, 2008, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a measure requiring chains with at least 20 stores statewide to post the calorie counts of standard dishes on menus and menu boards as of July 1.
While California was the first state to enact a nutrition disclosure law, several cities and counties have also moved on the issue. New York City last year became the first city to enforce a calorie-posting rule at chain restaurants with 15 or more locations. Westchester County in New York, King County in Washington, Philadelphia, and Nashville, Tenn., have also enacted or are considering disclosure regulations.
To stem the growing patchwork of disclosure mandates, the National Restaurant Association has thrown its weight behind a federal proposal that would pre-empt all others called the Labeling Education and Nutrition, or LEAN, Act. The LEAN Act would require restaurant chains with 20 or more stores nationwide to post calorie counts and offer additional nutrition data at the point of sale.
Caldeira noted that Dunkin’ supports the LEAN Act, calling its requirements “easier for consumers to understand” and “also more fair to our franchise operators.”