[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2784 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2784
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to extend the food
labeling requirements of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of
1990 to enable customers to make informed choices about the nutritional
content of standard menu items in large chain restaurants.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 13, 2008
Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Kennedy) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to extend the food
labeling requirements of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of
1990 to enable customers to make informed choices about the nutritional
content of standard menu items in large chain restaurants.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the Howard M. Metzenbaum ``Menu Education
and Labeling Act'' or the ``MEAL Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) research continues to reveal that--
(A) there is a strong link between diet and health;
and
(B) diet-related diseases start early in life;
(2)(A) increased caloric intake is a key factor
contributing to the alarming increase in obesity in the United
States;
(B) according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, \2/3\ of American adults are overweight or obese,
and the rates of obesity have doubled in children and tripled
in teens since 1980;
(C) obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease,
stroke, several types of cancer, and other health problems; and
(D) the annual cost of obesity to families, businesses, and
governments in the United States is $117,000,000,000;
(3) over the past 2 decades, there has been a significant
increase in the number of meals prepared or eaten outside the
home, with an estimated \1/3\ of calories and almost half of
total food dollars being spent on food purchased from or eaten
at restaurants and other food-service establishments;
(4)(A) excess saturated fat intake is a major risk factor
for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the
United States; and
(B) heart disease is a leading cause of disability among
working adults and its impact on the United States economy is
significant, estimated in 2005 to total $142,000,000,000 in
healthcare expenditures and lost productivity;
(5)(A) increased sodium intake is associated with increased
risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension, a condition that
can lead to cardiovascular disease, especially stroke; and
(B) the proportion of adults with high blood pressure is 45
percent at age 50, 60 percent at age 60, and more than 70
percent at age 70;
(6) the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-535) requires food manufacturers to provide
nutrition information on almost all packaged foods, however,
restaurant foods are exempt from those requirements unless a
nutrient content or health claim is made for a menu item;
(7) about 75 percent of adults report using food labels on
packaged foods, which is associated with eating more healthful
diets, and approximately half of people report that the
nutrition information on food labels has caused them to change
their minds about buying a food product;
(8) it is difficult for consumers to limit their intake of
calories at restaurants, given the limited availability of
nutrition information;
(9) studies show that consumers would like nutrition
information to be provided at the time of ordering their food
at a restaurant, at the point of the sale, so as to enable them
to make an educated decision regarding what to order; and
(10) a call to action from the Surgeon General and
Secretary of Health and Human Services recommends that, to
reduce the incidence of obesity, there be increased
availability of nutrition information for foods eaten and
prepared away from home.
SEC. 3. NUTRITION LABELING OF STANDARD MENU ITEMS AT CHAIN RESTAURANTS.
Section 403(q)(5) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 343(q)(5)) is amended--
(1) in clause (A)--
(A) in subclause (i), by inserting ``except as
provided in clauses (H) and (I),'' before ``which'' the
first place it appears; and
(B) in subclause (ii), by inserting ``except as
provided in clauses (H) and (I),'' before ``which'' the
first place it appears; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(H) Restaurants and Retail Food Establishments.--
``(i) In general.--Except for food described in subclause
(iii), in the case of food that is served, processed, or
prepared in a restaurant or similar retail food establishment
that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing
business under the same trade name (regardless of the type of
ownership of the locations), the restaurant or establishment
shall disclose the information described in subclause (ii).
``(ii) Information required to be disclosed.--Except as
provided in subclause (iii), the establishment shall disclose--
``(I)(aa) in a statement adjacent to the name of
the food on any menu listing the food for sale, or by
any other means deemed equivalent by the Secretary, the
number of calories, grams of saturated fat plus trans
fat, and milligrams of sodium contained in a standard
serving of the food, as usually offered for sale, in a
clear and conspicuous manner; and
``(bb) information, specified by the Secretary by
regulation, designed to enable the public to
understand, in the context of a total daily diet, the
significance of the nutrition information that is
provided; and
``(II) in a statement adjacent to the name of the
food on any menu board or other sign listing the food
for sale, or by any other means deemed equivalent by
the Secretary--
``(aa) the number of calories contained in
a serving of the food, as usually offered for
sale, in a clear and conspicuous manner; and
``(bb) notification that the information
required by subitems (aa) and (bb) of item (I)
shall be provided in writing at the request of
a prospective purchaser.
``(iii) Nonapplicability to certain food.--This clause does
not apply to--
``(I) items that are not listed on a menu or menu
board (such as condiments and other items placed on the
table or counter for general use); or
``(II) daily specials, temporary menu items, or
other irregular menu items, as specified by the
Secretary by regulation.
``(iv) Self-service facilities.--In the case of food sold
at a salad bar, buffet line, cafeteria line, or similar self-
service facility, a restaurant or other establishment shall
place a sign that lists calories per standard serving adjacent
to each food offered.
``(v) Voluntary provision of nutrition information; state
regulation of nutrition information for restaurant food.--
``(I) Retail food establishments.--Nothing in this
clause precludes a restaurant or similar retail food
establishment from providing additional nutrition
information, voluntarily, if the information complies
with the nutrition labeling requirements contained in
this subparagraph.
``(II) State or local requirements.--Nothing in
this clause precludes a State or political subdivision
of a State from requiring that a restaurant or similar
food establishment provide nutrition information in
addition to that required under this clause.
``(vi) Regulations.--
``(I) Proposed regulation.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this clause, the
Secretary shall promulgate proposed regulations to
carry out this clause.
``(II) Contents.--The regulations shall allow for
the variations in serving sizes and in food preparation
that can reasonably be expected to result from
inadvertent human error, training of food service
workers, and other factors.
``(III) Final regulations.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this clause, the
Secretary shall promulgate final regulations to
implement this clause.
``(IV) Failure to promulgate final regulations by
required date.--If the Secretary does not promulgate
final regulations under item (III) by the date that is
2 years after the date of enactment of this clause--
``(aa) the proposed regulations issued in
accordance with item (I) shall become effective
as the final regulations on the day after that
date; and
``(bb) the Secretary shall publish in the
Federal Register notice of the final
regulations.
``(I) Vending Machines.--
``(i) In general.--In the case of an article of food sold
from a vending machine that--
``(I) does not permit a prospective purchaser to
examine the article so as to be able to read a
statement affixed to the article before purchasing the
article; and
``(II) is operated by a person that is engaged in
the business of owning and operating 20 or more vending
machines;
the vending machine operator shall provide a conspicuous sign
in close proximity to the article that includes a statement
disclosing the number of calories contained in the article.
``(ii) Voluntary provision of nutrition information; state
regulation of nutrition information for vending machines.--
``(I) Vending machine operators.--Nothing in this
clause precludes a vending machine operator from
providing additional nutrition information,
voluntarily, if the information complies with the
nutrition labeling requirements contained in this
subparagraph.
``(II) State or local requirements.--Nothing in
this title precludes a State or political subdivision
of a State from requiring that a vending machine
operator provide nutrition information in addition to
that required under this clause.
``(iii) Regulations.--
``(I) Proposed regulation.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this clause, the
Secretary shall promulgate proposed regulations to
carry out this clause.
``(II) Final regulations.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this clause, the
Secretary shall promulgate final regulations to
implement this clause.
``(III) Failure to promulgate final regulations by
required date.--If the Secretary does not promulgate
final regulations under item (II) by the date that is 2
years after the date of enactment of this clause--
``(aa) the proposed regulations issued in
accordance with item (I) shall become effective
as the final regulations on the day after that
date; and
``(bb) the Secretary shall publish in the
Federal Register notice of the final
regulations.''.
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