SACRAMENTO Calif. The California Senate approved a bill Sunday that would require some chain restaurants in the state to provide nutrition information about standard menu items by next July. The legislation now moves to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has yet to indicate if he would sign the bill that would make California the first state to mandate nutrition disclosure.
The bill, SB 1420, was termed a compromise measure by the California Restaurant Association, which pushed for the inclusion of such provisions as protecting restaurants from lawsuits if the nutrition profile information of some items should vary from what’s disclosed. The measure also provides two means for applicable restaurants to meet the requirement until January 2011. As of July 2009, units of chains with at least 20 branches in the states must either post calorie counts on their menus or menu boards, or provide other nutrition information — such as fat, sodium and carbohydrate content — via brochures available upon request by patrons. As of Jan. 1, 2011, all applicable places must have the calorie information posted.
Schwarzenegger vetoed a stricter nutrition disclosure bill last October, which he criticized as impractical and lacking in flexibility in how restaurants could comply. That bill would have required units of chains with at least 14 locations in the state to list the calories, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates and sodium for each regular item directly on their menus. Restaurants that use menu boards would have been required to post calorie information on the boards, with the other nutrition data available in printed form near the point of purchase.
At the urging of the CRA, the latest bill pre-empts all state and civic labeling regulations, such as the requirements that are due to take effect in San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Jose counties.
Menu labeling went into effect earlier this year in New York City, and is due to take effect in King County, Wash., which encompasses Seattle.
