New York City wants calories put on menus

In the Courts. By Bonnie Booth, AMNews contributor. Sept. 10, 2007.

Should a McDonald's restaurant in New York City be forced to inform its customers that a Big Mac has 540 calories by posting that number on the menu board along with the sandwich's price?

That question is at the heart of a lawsuit the New York State Restaurant Assn. filed after the city used its regulatory powers to require restaurants that have already made public the number of calories in standardized menu items to take the next step and make that number "readily available" to consumers as they choose food items.

The city enacted the regulation because "an obesity epidemic threatens the health of New Yorkers" who are now consuming more food at restaurants exempt from the mandatory federal nutrition disclosure requirements, according to court documents.

The restaurant association has asked a judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to stop the city from enforcing the regulation, which was slated to take effect on July 1. The judge has forbidden the city from enforcing the regulation until at least Oct. 1, while the lawsuit, New York State Restaurant Assn. v. New York City Board of Health, et al., makes its way through the courts.

Both sides acknowledge that the regulation will affect only about 10% of the city's restaurants. But, judging from the number of people and organizations that have filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting the city, a ruling against New York could have far-reaching implications.

The regulation is reportedly the only one of its kind in the country, but 14 states and three major cities have introduced legislation similar to New York City's requirement, according to a friend-of-the court brief supporting the city's move, filed by the National League of Cities, the National Assn. of County and City Health Officials, and several individual counties, municipalities and elected officials. A ruling in favor of the restaurant association would likely influence the debate on any legislation pending in statehouses and municipalities.