Requires certain restaurants and food service establishments to post the caloric value of food items

A chain restaurant or food service establishment shall mean an establishment engaged in the preparation, serving and sale of food or beverages or meals with standardized preparation, portion sizes and content intended for public consumption. This establishment is one of at least fifteen such restaurants or establishments in the United States and at least five such restaurants or establishments in New York State doing business under the same trade name and offering predominately the same menu items on the same menus or menu boards or signs. This shall not apply to food establishments that are licensed under article twenty-c of the agriculture and markets law except for sections that been determined by the Commissioner to be restaurants or food service establishments subject to the provisions of this section.

Health inspectors are only required to check for the menu listings although the Commissioner can ask for documentation of the accuracy of listings. Violations of this section shall be limited to the penalty set forth in section twelve of this chapter. These provisions shall not restrict the power of any county, city, town, or village to adopt and enforce additional local laws, ordinances, or regulations which comply with at least the minimum applicable standards set forth in this section.

Justification

Obesity rates in adults doubled over the last twenty years. The percentage of seriously overweight children tripled in the past two decades. The NYC Health Department found that nearly half of elementary-aged children are overweight. According to the NYS WIC Association over 32% of the children age 2-5 who are participating are overweight or at risk of being overweight. This leads to illnesses such as diabetes in young children. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) research estimates that one in three U.s. children born in 2000 will become diabetic in their lifetimes because of obesity. A study commissioned by the CDC found that $75 billion is spent nationally each year on obesity related medical costs, half of it with public dollars through Medicaid and Medicare. It was estimated that $3.5 billion of New York's Medicaid spending is due to obesity, by far the highest level of any State.

During the time when obesity has been rising, Americans are increasingly eating meals away from home and food businesses spend hundreds of millions of dollars encouraging children and their families to do it even more. In 1970, Americans spent just 26% of their food dollars on foods prepared outside their homes but today spend almost half of food dollars eating out. The average American consumes about one-third of their calories from foods from restaurants and other food-service establishments. Portion sizes have been increasing and studies show that people tend to eat greater quantities of food when they are served more. It is not uncommon for a restaurant entree to provide half of a day's recommended calories. Children eat almost twice as many calories when they eat out compared to home.

Since 1994, consumers can get nutrition labeling on packaged foods at the supermarket. However, they are now getting more of their food from restaurants and other food service establishments than years ago and they cannot tell that a sweetened coffee drink at one chain may have as many calories as a cheeseburger with fries at another. Food industry critics of government efforts to fight the obesity problem claim that it is up to parents to choose healthier foods to eat. Restaurant nutrition information could empower parents, and children, to do a better job. Studies have found that 90% of consumers underestimate the calorie level of menu items and when calorie information is present consumers choose lower calorie items one third more often. National surveys indicate that between 62% and 87% of consumers support requiring restaurant nutrition information. Recent reports by the Surgeon General and an FDA expert panel on obesity recommend increased nutrition information on foods eaten away from home.

This proposal would not place an undue burden on business. It only applies to menu items for which calorie information is already made available to the public through websites or brochures. It only applies to menu items that are offered in standardized sizes and content. For example, if a menu item such as a salad is prepared by the customer at a salad bar, that is not a standardized menu item and calorie posting would not be required. If a standardized salad were offered on a menu board then that item may be required to have calorie information. One day specials or special orders by customers would not have to be analyzed and posted. This proposal does not mandate what food restaurants offer or how they cook it.

Some health experts believe this generation of children will be the first in history to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents because of the obesity epidemic. Everyone, including food businesses, needs to be part of the solution or we will all pay the consequences.

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None.

Effective date

180 days after becoming law and. Provides for necessary regulations to be implemented prior to that date. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : A5520 of 2003 - reported referred to codes, A5220-A of 2004 - ordered to third reading rules cal. 421 A5664-A 2005- reported referred to codes A729 of 2007 - referred to health, reported referred to codes, amend and recommit to codes, defeated in codes A729-A of 2008 referred to health, A729-B of 2008 amend and recommit to health, referred to codes, referred to rules