Report Title:

Health; Food Establishments

Description:

Requires a retail food establishment that is part of a franchise comprised of ten or more establishments, regardless of the ownership of the individual establishments, to print the nutritional information for each standard menu item next to that item on the menu or menu board.

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1098

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to health.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Research continues to reveal a strong link between diet and health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. The rate of obesity has doubled in children and tripled in teens since 1980. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other health problems, and costs families, businesses, and governments $117,000,000,000 each year. Increased calorie intake is a key contributor to this alarming increase in obesity.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Excess saturated fat intake is a major risk factor for heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women, and causes the death of sixty-one thousand men and women between the ages of forty-five and sixty-four each year. It is also a leading cause of disability among working adults, significantly impacting the economy. It is estimated that heart disease cost $368,000,000,000 in health care expenditures and lost productivity in 2004.

Increased sodium intake is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension, a condition that can lead to cardiovascular disease, especially stroke. The proportion of Americans with high blood pressure is forty-five per cent at age fifty, sixty per cent at age sixty, and over seventy per cent at age seventy.

Over the past twenty years, there has been a significant increase in the number of meals prepared, eaten, or both outside the home. It is estimated that one-third of calories and almost half of total food dollars is spent on food purchased from or eaten at restaurants and other food service establishments.

Three-quarters of American adults report using the food labels on packaged foods that are required by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. Using food labels is associated with eating more healthful diets. Approximately half of the people surveyed reported that the nutritional information on food labels caused them to change their minds about purchasing a food item. While nutrition labeling is currently required on most processed foods, such information is only required for restaurant foods for which nutrient content or health claims are made. It is difficult for a consumer to limit the consumer's caloric, saturated fat, or sodium intake at a restaurant because of the lack of available nutritional information.

The purpose of this Act is to require a retail food establishment that is part of a franchise comprised of ten or more establishments, regardless of the ownership of the individual establishments, to print the nutritional information for each standard menu item next to that item on the menu or menu board.

SECTION 2. Chapter 321, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§321-   Retail food establishments; nutritional information. (a) A retail food establishment that is part of a franchise comprised of ten or more establishments, regardless of the ownership of the individual establishments, shall print the nutritional information for each standard menu item next to that item on the menu in a typeface similar to other information published about that item. The following statement shall be printed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the bottom of each page of the menu: "Recommended limits for a 2,000 calorie daily diet are 20 grams of saturated fat and 2,400 milligrams of sodium. Saturated fat numbers include trans fat."

For purposes of this section:

"Standard menu item" shall mean food offered for sale that appears on the menu for more than thirty days per year, except condiments, customized orders, and daily specials.

(b) Nutritional information shall include the total number of:

(1) Calories;

(2) Grams of saturated fat plus trans fat;

(3) Grams of carbohydrates; and

(4) Milligrams of sodium per serving;

as usually prepared and offered for sale.

(c) The median value for calories or other nutrients for all flavors or varieties shall be printed on the menu for a standard menu item that is available in different flavors or varieties, including soft drinks, ice cream, pizza and doughnuts, if the calories or other nutrient values for all flavors or varieties are within twenty per cent of the median. If the calories or other nutrient values are not within twenty per cent of the median, then the range for all the flavors or varieties of the standard menu item shall be printed from the lowest to the highest value. If a standard menu item that is available in different flavors or varieties is advertised by a name placard or similar signage, the calories per serving as offered for sale shall be printed on the placard or similar signage. If a standard menu item is not advertised by a name placard or similar signage, nutritional information for each flavor or variety shall be published by other written means such as an in-store brochure, booklet, or kiosk that shall be accessible to a customer. Signage shall be displayed to alert a customer of the availability of the nutritional information.

(d) If the establishment uses a menu board, it may limit the nutritional information printed on the menu board to the total number of calories per serving per item in a typeface similar to other information printed about that standard food item; provided that upon request, the requisite nutritional information shall be available in writing to a customer. The following statement shall be printed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the bottom of the menu board: "Daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet."

(e) If the establishment serves a standard menu item in a self-serve capacity such as by a salad bar, buffet line, or cafeteria service, it may limit the nutritional information printed for a standard food item offered by those means to the total number of calories per standard serving per item in a typeface similar to other information printed about the item; provided that upon request, the requisite nutritional information shall be made available in writing to a customer.

(f) Nutrient analysis shall be obtained from an independent nutrition-testing laboratory and shall use analytic methods and express nutrient content in a manner consistent with federal law. Nutritional information that is printed pursuant to this section shall not be more than twenty per cent lower than nutrient analysis shows as the content of the standard menu item.

(g) The director of health shall adopt and enforce rules pursuant to chapter 91 as the director deems necessary for the efficient enforcement of this section. The director may make the rules adopted under this section conform insofar as practicable to federal law."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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