H.R. 2426: Menu Education and Labeling Act
111th Congress, 1st Session
Official Title: 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.
Sponsor: Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] (introduced 5/14/2009)
Major Actions:
5/14/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
SUMMARY AS OF:
5/14/2009--Introduced.
Menu Education and Labeling Act or the MEAL Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations doing business under the same trade name to disclose: (1) in a statement adjacent to a standard menu item, the number of calories, grams of saturated plus trans fat, grams of carbohydrate, and milligrams of sodium in each such item; (2) other information designed to enable the public to understand the significance of the nutrition information provided in the context of a total daily diet; (3) that such nutrition information is available in writing at the point of ordering; and (4) the number of calories in food on a drive-through menu board, adjacent to each menu item. Exempts condiments, items placed on a table or counter for general use, daily specials, and temporary menu items.
Requires restaurants that sell self-serve food and beverages, such as through a salad bar, buffet line, or cafeteria lines, to place a sign that lists the number of calories per serving adjacent to each food item or beverage offered.
Requires vending machine operators who operate 20 or more vending machines to provide a conspicuous sign disclosing the number of calories contained in each article of food dispensed from such machines.
Permits
restaurants and vending machine operators to
voluntarily provide, and
states to require, additional nutritional
information.
Read the entire bill here
(PDF).
Cosponsors: 38:
Rep Blumenauer, Earl
[OR-3]
Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1]
Rep
Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1]
Rep Butterfield, G.
K. [NC-1]
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23]
Rep
Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8]
Rep Castor, Kathy
[FL-11]
Rep Courtney, Joe [CT-2]
Rep
Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7]
Rep Delahunt,
William D. [MA-10]
Rep Ellison, Keith
[MN-5]
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17]
Rep
Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14]
Rep Fattah, Chaka
[PA-2]
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51]
Rep Frank,
Barney [MA-4]
Rep Green, Gene [TX-29]
Rep
Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7]
Rep Hinchey,
Maurice D. [NY-22]
Rep Kaptur, Marcy
[OH-9]
Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3]
Rep Larson,
John B. [CT-1]
Rep Lee, Barbara
[CA-9]
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16]
Rep
Markey, Edward J. [MA-7]
Rep Matsui, Doris
O. [CA-5]
Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4]
Rep
McDermott, Jim [WA-7]
Rep McGovern, James P.
[MA-3]
Rep Miller, George [CA-7]
Rep
Moran, James P. [VA-8]
Rep Murphy,
Christopher S. [CT-5]
Rep Sarbanes, John P.
[MD-3]
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D.
[IL-9]
Rep Sutton, Betty [OH-13]
Rep
Watson, Diane E. [CA-33]
Rep Waxman, Henry
A. [CA-30]
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C.
[CA-6]