Senate considers national standards for menu labeling: lawmakers introduce LEAN Act to record crowd at NRA Public Affairs Conference

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 6, 2008 by Paul Frumkin

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WASHINGTON -- Acting to head off a spreading patchwork of menu-labeling rules at the state and local levels, a coalition of trade associations and foodservice chains has been working with two U.S. senators to craft legislation that would create a uniform national standard for disclosure of nutrition data.

The new bill, called the Labeling Education and Nutrition, or LEAN, Act of 2008, was unveiled publicly at the National Restaurant Association's 2008 Public Affairs Conference here Sept. 23. and introduced on the Senate floor two days later.

Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., who is co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told NRA members the country needs to address the problem of obesity, and a federal measure standardizing nutrition labeling on menus would be a step in the right direction.

"It's important to pass legislation to get people to eat the right foods," Carper told the conference's record 775 attendees, adding that it also is vital to establish consistency in the way restaurants display nutrition data.

He said that while certain issues should be handled at the state and local levels, "healthy nutrition and obesity are national issues that cry for a national solution."

The bill would extend the requirements enacted by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 requiring packaged foods to contain nutrition information on all labels or packaging.

The LEAN Act would force restaurant and grocery chains with 20 or more outlets to make nutrition data for menu items available to customers before they reach the point of purchase. "Specials" that are on the menu for 90 days or less would be exempt.

The measure also would preempt all earlier state and local menu-labeling mandates and preclude states and localities from enacting tougher rules in the future.

In addition, it would provide liability protection to restaurants that comply with the law.

Under to the LEAN Act, foodservice operations with menu boards would have the choice of listing calories on the board, on a sign next to the menu board, on a sign in the wait queue or by other means as decided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The measure also states that restaurants with menus could list calories directly on the menu, on a supplemental menu, on a menu insert or on a menu appendix.

Additional nutrition data, like those stated in standardized listings on all packaged foods, also would be required to be available in writing before patrons reach the point of purchase at restaurants with menus and menu boards.

Restaurants also would have to post statements on their menu boards or menus indicating that the suggested daily caloric intake is 2,000 calories.

The LEAN Act provides for periods of one year for drafting regulations, one year for gathering input and potential revisions from the industry, and six months for compliance.

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The foodservice industry has been wrestling with the problem of menu labeling since a law mandating calorie disclosures on the

menus and menu boards of some chain restaurants was enacted in New York City earlier this year. Seattle-anchored King County, Wash., enacted a chain-restaurant nutrition disclosure rule in August, though enforcement wouldn't begin until next year. At press time, the nation's first statewide calorie-posting bill was awaiting California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature. That law, which targets chains with 20 or more California branches, would take effect next July 1, but includes an 18-month grace period during which an optional range of nutrition data could be provided by other means before on-menu calorie posting would be required, by Jan. 1, 2011. The law would also would shield good-faith operators from lawsuits alleging data disclosure errors.

Both the city and county of Los Angeles are looking to draft menu-labeling proposals. Research on the issue also is under way in Westchester County, N.Y.

Rep. Rosa De Lauro, D-Conn., and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, have introduced menu-labeling measures into the U.S. House and Senate, respectively. DeLauro's bill would require certain chain restaurants to list calories, saturated and trans fats, and sodium content on printed menus, and calories on menu boards. Harkin's measure would require restaurants with 20 or more locations to disclose calories, grams of saturated fat and trans fat, and milligrams of sodium on menus. The NRA does not support either bill.

Saying that it is important that the industry take proactive stance on the issue, John Gay, the NRA's senior vice president of government affairs and public policy, told attendees that the LEAN Act would provide "a national uniform standard, not a patchwork of laws."

"It's good for the entire industry," he said. "It protects independents. It protects chains from lawsuits. It gives guests what they want. ... More and more people want nutritional information."

Along with the NRA, the coalition, whose name had yet to be announced as of press time, is said to include several trade associations, among them the National Council of Chain Restaurants and the International Franchise Association as well as state associations and restaurant chains.