By Darrell A. Hughes Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A health and food policy advocacy group on Friday urged the next Congress to require that nutritional data, including calorie, sodium, and fat counts, be listed on chain restaurants' menus nationwide.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said lawmakers have failed in the last three consecutive congresses to act on two bills that would create national regulations.
With a new Democratic majority Congress coming aboard, the group said re-introducing two bills to lawmakers is key for 2009.
"Now with the restaurant industry interested in a more national solution, these bills are going to be much more active in the next congress," said Margo Wootan, the group's director of nutrition policy.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., introduced one of the previous bills, and plans to re-introduce it to the 111th Congress.
"The momentum is building for nutrition information in this country and this is coming after major cities like New York and Philadelphia have passed legislation," Harkin spokeswoman Kate Cyrul said. "There's really a nutrition effort underway and Sen. Harkin wants to capitalize on that and try to give people this information before they make their food selection."
The state of California, along with counties in Oregon and Washington, have already passed menu-labeling legislation. New York City has implemented a food labeling mandate, with other localities in the state of New York looking to follow.
Group officials said while some states are taking action, there needs to be a more uniformed approached that provides consumers with consistent nutrition facts in every restaurant across the U.S. Currently, each state has varied requirements on how chain restaurants should provide the nutrition facts to customers. A national bill could solve this issue, health policy advocates said.
"America's growing health and obesity problems calls for a national solution that provides more consumers with more detailed nutrition information that is easy and convenient, especially when dining out," the National Restaurant Association said in a statement.
The potential national measure would only apply to national food chains, exempting mom-and-pop restaurants.
Wooten said smaller restaurants may not have the resources to provide nutrition information for their non-standardized forms of cooking, while many chain restaurants already have the necessary data.
At the group's forum on the legislation, Yum Brands Inc. (YUM) spokesman Jonathan Blum said his company has agreed to voluntarily provide calorie information on menu boards in its company-owned stores across the nation by January 2011, which is the same phase-in period California chain restaurants have to abide by. Yum Brands operates KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and other fast-food restaurants.
He added Yum Brands is also working with its franchisees, encouraging them to adopt the approach as well.
Meanwhile, "Yum Brands is urging Congress to address menu labeling in the next session," Blum said.
-By Darrell A. Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6684; darrell.hughes@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 14, 2008 16:50 ET (21:50 GMT)

Publié le 14 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones