According to Edwin Garcia, Mercury News Sacramento Bureau, California is poised to become the first state to require large chain restaurants to notify customers of the nutritional content of menu items, under legislation approved Tuesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill was introduced in the attempt to help combat the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure in California.
I was not surprised when the "Terminator" signed this bill into law given that health and fitness has been his ticket to the governorship starting with repeatedly winning the title of Mr. Olympia, his movie “Pumping Iron,” and serving as one time “health and fitness czar” for the first President George Bush.
The new law will force restaurant chains with at least 20 locations to readily disclose the amount of calories, saturated fat, carbohydrates and sodium of menu items beginning July 1. If they can post that information on the menu that is even better for now because they will soon be required to post caloric information on menus and indoor menu boards, and provide brochures, upon request, with nutritional content information at the drive-through.
Perhaps the best news about this legislation is that the California Restaurant Association had sued the Santa Clara County to block it but actually dropped the suit and supported the legislation. One reason give by the Restaurant Association to support the bill was that it would introduce a statewide standard for foodservice owners/operators to follow in California making it easier to comply with such laws for those operating multi-unit foodservice operations.
This is good legislation and a business practice that should be the norm in the United States. It should not take legislation to force our industry to do right by its customers and better inform them when purchasing food and beverages. As it turns out, similar legislation in New York City has been good for business and customers. Some customers are shying away from items they consumed in the past because they now know the true caloric content – so they are buying something else on the menu to fit in their diet. Some customers are even splurging more since knowing that what they thought was high in calories was not the case so increasing the order.
All in all, this kind of legislation will enable customers to trust that their interests and the interests of the foodservice are in sync with shrinking waistlines without compromising fatter operational bottom lines.
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