Harkin, DeLauro Build On Local Nutrition Efforts with Federal Restaurant Menu Labeling Initiative

Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) today introduced legislation requiring that nutritional information be displayed on chain restaurant menus and vending machines. The introduction of their legislation, the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act, will take the success that has been made at the city and state level with respect to menu labeling to the national level.

"Overweight, poor nutrition and diet-related diseases are public health threats of the first order – contributing to numerous chronic health conditions, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke," Harkin said. "But the issues aren't just medical – they also affect our economy. We spend almost $2 trillion annually on health care in the United States, 75 percent of which goes for treating and managing chronic diseases that are, in many cases, preventable. It is time to take preventive action and give consumers the tools that they need to take better control of their diet and health."

"Providing consumers with immediate access to nutrition information in restaurants has become more important than ever, especially given the numerous studies that link eating outside the home with obesity and increased caloric intake. This bill would represent an incremental step in combating increasing obesity rates which has seen two-thirds of American adults become overweight or obese and, perhaps more alarmingly, 34 percent of children and adolescents aged 2 – 19 become overweight or obese. If we are to make any progress in lowering health care costs associated with these rising obesity rates, we must provide consumers with this essential tool in their effort to achieve a healthy diet," said Congresswoman DeLauro.

The Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act would close a loophole in the Nutrition Labeling Education Act (NLEA) passed in 1990, which required most retail food packages to provide nutrition information, but exempted restaurant food from these requirements. The MEAL Act requires

chain restaurants with 20 or more business locations to provide consumers with information on calories, sodium, saturated and trans fat, and carbohydrates. Studies show the total number of calories that individuals derive from food outside the home has increased steadily over time, but also indicate that very little nutrition information it provided in restaurants to consumers. The lawmakers have introduced similar legislation in the past three Congresses.

In the past year, New York City has successfully implemented a menu labeling initiative that requires calorie information to be posted on menus and menu boards. Other cities around the country are rapidly following suit, including Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Nashville, Tennessee and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Last fall the state of California became the first state in the country to enact a menu labeling bill for chain restaurants.

"More Americans are dining out at restaurants serving large portions of food with excessive calories, fat and salt, contributing to the nation's mounting obesity epidemic," said Timothy J. Gardner, M.D., American Heart Association President. "We commend Senator Harkin and Congresswoman Delauro for introducing the MEAL Act which will address the battle against bulging waistlines by giving consumers information to make healthy food choices and decrease their risk factors for deadly cardiovascular diseases."

"This is one of most important efforts that legislators have undertaken to improve the nation's nutrition," said Kelly Brownell, Director of the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. "Consumers and even trained nutritionists make large errors when estimating the calories in restaurant foods. Just like they have the right to nutrition information in packaged foods they have a right to information in restaurants – and it must be on the menu or it will be of little use."

"Labeling on packaged foods was implemented 15 years ago this month, giving consumers nutrition information for foods eaten at home," said Margo G. Wootan, Nutrition Policy Director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's high time that people also have key nutrition facts when eating out."

"The American Diabetes Association supports the MEAL Act because access to the nutritional content of meals in chain restaurants is imperative to help consumers make healthier food choices," said George J. Huntley, Board Chair of the American Diabetes Association. "Such choices help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and also aid disease management and lower the risk of complications for those already diagnosed with diabetes."