SEATTLE —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
The King County menu-labeling requirement, the nation’s second, goes further than a mandate now in effect in New York City by requiring the disclosure of more nutritional information. In addition, the King County measure offers no exemption for operations that have yet to conduct a nutrition analysis of their offerings. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
The King County law also requires all restaurants in the county to rid their kitchens of artificial trans fats in two phases. By April 1, 2008, all fryer oils and shortenings used in foodservice establishments must have zero grams of the substance by government standards, which equates to a trans-fat content of less than 0.5 grams. Restaurants must find replacements for margarines and all other products containing trans fats by Feb. 1, 2009. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
King County joins a growing list of cities and counties that have banned trans fats, including New York City, Philadelphia, Montgomery County in Maryland, Albany County in New York, and Brookline, Mass. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
Many King County operators are well on their way to meeting the deadlines of the trans-fat ban, according to a recent survey by the Washington Restaurant Association. The survey found that 55 percent of the restaurants in King County already are trans-fat-free, and another 15 percent are in the process of switching. The survey also found that 90 percent of restaurants there plan to be trans-fat-free within the next year. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
The association had asked lawmakers to provide sufficient time for the stragglers by delaying enactment of the trans-fat ban for 18 months, or roughly until January 2009 for the first phase. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
The WRA voiced strong opposition to the menu-labeling mandate, which would apply to restaurants that are part of any chain with at least 10 units nationwide. Dr. David Fleming, director of public health for the city of Seattle and King County, has estimated the cost of remaking menus and menu boards at $50 to $100 per store, or $5,000 to $10,000 for entire chains. But restaurateurs have refuted those figures as being too low. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
The King County measure is more stringent than the nation’s first menu-labeling requirement, which took effect in New York City on July 1 but will not be enforced until October at the earliest. New York’s law requires restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus or menu boards if that information is already available to customers through other means, such as on websites or in brochures. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
The King County regulation mandates that all operations fitting its definition of a chain restaurant provide information on calorie, fat, sodium and carbohydrate content—even if such nutritional analysis has not yet been calculated. The information will be required for all menu items except specials. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
Restaurants that use menu boards are required to post calorie counts alongside items in the same font and type size as the price. The other information must be posted “in a plainly visible format at the place of ordering,” the Board of Health said in a statement. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
Chain restaurants that use traditional menus must include all the nutritional information on their bills of fare. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
The Board of Health did not disclose what penalties would be levied on restaurants that fail to comply with the new law. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
The county said in a statement that it would work with the restaurant industry to help it prepare for the mandates, but it did not specify what sort of assistance it would provide. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
Health officials in New York agreed to postpone enforcement of its menu-labeling mandate after a legal challenge was filed by the New York State Restaurant Association. That lawsuit was scheduled to be heard in court starting July 25. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
King County officials said the measures promote citizens’ safety and have overwhelming support from local residents. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
“Menu labeling has the support of more than 65 percent of King County residents,” said Board of Health member Dr. Bud Nicola. —Chain restaurants here and in other parts of Washington’s King County will be required to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards beginning Aug. 1, 2008, under a law approved earlier this month by the county Board of Health.
