Chain restaurant operators work to make the most of new menu-labeling legislation.
By Christine LaFave Grace, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, March 1, 2010
Picture Caption: Five states, as well as New York City, Philadelphia, four New York counties, Maryland’s Montgomery County and Washington’s King County have passed menu-labeling laws.
In November, the New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA) issued a statement strongly opposing a menu-labeling bill under consideration in the state Senate. Urging elected officials to vote against the measure, which would require restaurant chains with 20 or more units nationwide to post calorie counts on in-store and drive-thru menus, the association argued, “Menus are intended to market the food, ambiance and characteristics of eating-and-drinking establishments and should not be used as tools for government to disseminate public health messages.”
Furthermore, the NJRA asserted, New Jersey “has a lot of work to do” to become more business-friendly and affordable for consumers. It concluded, “This is not the time for [New Jersey] to place another burdensome mandate on eating and drinking establishments in the state.”
The effort failed. In January, New Jersey became the fifth state—following California, Massachusetts, Maine and Oregon—to pass statewide menu-labeling legislation. A similar bill cleared Delaware’s state Senate two weeks later. Moreover, the specter of federal calorie-posting requirements looms large: Menu-labeling provisions are included in federal healthcare bills that as of press time were stalled in Congress, and the National Restaurant Association has thrown its support behind federal menu-labeling legislation, stating that a uniform national standard represents the only equitable approach to menu labeling.
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