Menu labeling in California

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reported yesterday:

A bill that would require nutrition information on menus in chain restaurants in California cleared a key legislative hurdle today, passing in the state Assembly’s appropriations committee. SB 120, which passed the full state Senate in June, would require chain restaurants to list calories on menu boards and calories, saturated and trans fat, sodium, and carbohydrates on printed menus. Health advocates are urging passage of the bill when it comes before the full Assembly in early September.

“Californians, and indeed all Americans, deserve to know what they’re getting when they’re ordering food at chain restaurants,” said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan. “A Double Whopper with Cheese has as many calories in Sacramento as it does in San Diego. Why not make that information available when people are making their decisions?”

CSPI recognizes that, to make the case for menu labeling, it must overcome concerns about feasibility, cost, and the sense that there would be too much mandatory information on the cluttered menu boards. Though that's a big challenge, their clever graphic artists continue to come out with more convincing photoshop examples of how it could be done well.