Nationwide Menu Labeling System Gaining Momentum

WASHINGTON—A nationwide system requiring fast-food chains to list calories on menus may be gaining support in Congress as more states adopt the practice and the restaurant industry concedes change is on the way, a consumer, industry and health panel said Nov. 14.

Laws requiring that calories and other nutritional information be posted have become increasingly popular as states and cities struggle to combat the country's growing obesity problem while promoting health and nutrition. At the same time, lawmakers in Washington have struggled to get the practice adopted nationwide.

A bill introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Tom Harkin has stalled several times since 2003 for various reasons, including opposition by Republican leadership and special interests and a lack of momentum on the state level, said DeLauro's office.

The aide said the bill requiring nutrition labeling on chain-restaurant menus across the United States would be reintroduced in the next session of Congress.

Similar legislation has been introduced by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), calling for restaurants and grocery stores to post calories on the menu, a menu board or other approved ways.

In late September, California became the first state to require fast-food restaurant chains to list calories on menus. Similar calorie information went into effect in New York City earlier this year, and more than a dozen states are considering similar health-code provisions.

Margo Wootan, a director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said action by the states has helped spur the restaurant industry to become more interested in a national solution.