Originally published June 16 2005
New York bill would require food chains to display nutritional information
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A Newsday.com story reported that bills in both houses of the New York state legislature, if passed, would require food chains like McDonalds and Starbucks to disclose the nutritional information of their products.
Would you order your child a large hot chocolate if its 590 calories were disclosed on a Starbucks board?
Bills in both houses of the State Legislature would require chain restaurants to post calorie counts on menu boards and nutritional content, including caloric, carbohydrate, fat and sodium levels, on their menus.
The Brooklyn Democrat, who heads the Assembly's task force on food, farm and nutrition policy, added, "If restaurant owners are embarrassed by their menu offerings, they can always change some of them and advertise their healthy choices."
The proposal, which Ortiz believes would empower parents to make informed decisions for their children, also has support in the State Senate from Health Committee Chairman Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City), but has faced resistance from restaurant groups who have fought the plan over the past two years.
"The need is out there to get people to make informed choices, to have healthier, less fattening food than that they are eating," Hannon said.
Rick Sampson, president of the 7,000-member New York State Restaurant Association, opposes the bill, saying nutrition education should be done through parents or in school.
Many chain restaurants have nutritional information available on their company Web sites, but diners would have to have Internet access and research their meals before eating, Ortiz said.
The bill is currently in the Senate Health Committee and the Codes Committee in the Assembly, and could be voted out before the end of the session later this month, legislators say.
Meanwhile, Ortiz has proposed another bill that would impose a 1 percent tax on snack foods to raise money for the state's childhood obesity prevention program.
Children eat almost twice as many calories when they eat a meal at a restaurant compared to at home," she said.
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