NYC adopts new menu-labeling lawNYC adopts new menu-labeling law

NEW YORK New York City’s Board of Health adopted a regulation today requiring chain restaurants throughout the city to list calorie counts on their menus and menu boards.

The law will force brands with 15 or more locations around the country to display calorie information alongside all menu items. The mandate will affect approximately 10 percent of New York's approximately 20,000 eating establishments.

New York City health commissioner Thomas Frieden maintains that posting calorie information would help fight obesity by aiding consumers in making "healthier choices about what to eat and drink."

The board passed a similar rule late in 2006 that would have impacted only restaurants that already posted calorie content on the Internet, food wrappers, tray liners or in brochures.

That law was scheduled to take effect July 1, 2007, but it was challenged by the New York State Restaurant Association. The NYSRA maintained that the health department lacked the authority to impose such a policy.

In September, U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell ruled in the association's favor, but said the department would not have violated federal standards had it not restricted it to chains that already voluntarily disclosed the information.

The department responded by introducing a new version in October. The law will take effect March 31, 2008.

Commenting on the city's decision, Chuck Hunt, executive vice president of the New York City Chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, said the association was exploring all options, "which includes the possibility of further litigation."