Must menus in California count calories, carbs, fats?

A bill is on the governor's desk, and 4 of 5 state residents back it. But restaurant chains say mandatory measures are lawsuits waiting to happen.

from the September 18, 2007 edition

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"This is clearly an epidemic, and this is one of the most important tools we have to change the trends in obesity," says DeSaulnier.

Despite the positive poll numbers, the California measure hit heavy opposition from other lawmakers, and barely made it through the Assembly by a vote of 10 to 6. "This is yet another example of nanny government," said Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi, who sought to defeat the bill.

The restaurant industry, too, fought hard against it. "This legislation places an onerous and intrusive burden on restaurateurs that will have no effect on obesity rates and opens the door for frivolous lawsuits," said the California Restaurant Association in a statement.

Nationally, restaurant owners say they worry about the cost and hassle of providing such information. Chain restaurants already provide nutrition details to consumers in brochures, posters, tray liners, computer kiosks, and websites, they say, and changes in restaurants' menus and recipes as well as patrons' customized meals make the practice impractical and misleading.

"We are in favor of the trend to carry more nutritional information," says Sue Hensley, spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association (NRA). "But we are in favor of voluntary measures and worry about accurate information in a one-size-fits-all mandate."

Proponents acknowledge that some restaurants are providing specific nutritional information. At Au Bon Pain restaurants, for instance, patrons can enter the names of their purchased items into computers, and obtain an estimate of the number of calories and carbohydrates as well as the fat content that each contains. In March, the NRA formed a partnership with 50,000 restaurant locations nationwide. Consumers can also use healthydiningfinder.com to access nutritional analysis of food items.

But some say these more detailed menus must be located where patrons can easily find them.

"If I had that much time to log on to a website and find all this information, I would just stay home and cook dinner," says Wootan. The CSPI did a study of McDonald's locations in Washington, D.C., and found that 40 percent of them had no nutritional information, and at the others, patrons had to ask an average of two to three people to find it.

"Someone always had to get it from the basement, or it was hidden behind the counter or posted by the restrooms," says Wootan.

Governor Schwarzenegger's office has not indicated whether he will sign the bill, but many experts say he is likely to do so. They cite his support to ban some junk foods from California's schools, his past chairmanship of the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness, and his position as coleader for The Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

If he approves the measure, the requirements would not take effect until January 2009.

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