RESTAURANT NEWSNYC Rule Forcing Restaurants to Post Calorie Counts Upheld
Restaurants must abide by Law
By Mark Isaac Thyss
Garden of Healing®
Restaurant goers will continue to read calorie counts of their favorite fattening foods in New York City restaurants.
Taking a blow was The New York State Restaurant Association which challenged the City’s 2007 regulation requiring fast-food and chain restaurants to display calorie information on their menus. Victorious was New York City's Health department and its campaign against obesity.
In February, a federal appellate court rejected the restaurant association's position to do away with the 2007 regulation.
In their fight, advocates of the calorie law see it as a critical tool in America's struggle with obesity. The City had cited evidence showing that customers often and "sometimes significantly" underestimate the calorie content of meals.
Enforcement of the rule began in July 2008, but, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, eliminates, for now, uncertainty over the rule.
“This is good news for everyone,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city’s health commissioner. “Nearly all chain restaurants are now complying with the law. Consumers are learning more about the food before they order, and the market for healthier alternatives is growing. We applaud the court for its decision, and we thank the restaurant industry for living by the rules.”
The appellate court rejected the restaurant association’s arguments that the rule was pre-empted by federal Food and Drug Administration regulations and that it violated the First Amendment rights of restaurants.
Three judges found that Congress intended to exempt restaurant food from the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, and left the question of whether to require the posting of information like calorie counts to state and local governments.
The rule applies to restaurants that are part of chains with at least 15 establishments doing business nationally.
The calorie-count rule, adopted by New York City’s Board of Health in 2007, originally applied to restaurants that had already voluntarily made nutritional information available.
© 1996-2009 Mark Isaac Thyss/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.
For more articles and recipes leading to natural health and healing, please visit:
http://www.thegardenofhealing.com/
Become a SelfcarePro! Your Nutritional Edge, Foods, Fitness, Best Healthcare & Spa Destinations; for Product Reviews, Articles, Interviews & Celebrity Exposes, visit:
http://www.selfcarepro.com/
