In the 14 months since Council approved the bill, the industry has worked with the Center for Science in the Public Interest and other groups on a compromise national version that requires only calories on menus but also covers vending machines. It's in the health bills that passed the House and the Senate and that are now stalled.
Wootan is confident that national menu labeling will be approved, with or without a new health bill. If so, it will supersede all local versions.
Because federal regulations take time, the expansive Philadelphia listings would likely have a run of several years.
And then?
"Restaurants might see this as a way to draw in customers," said John Weidman, deputy executive director of the Food Trust, a local nonprofit.
Not likely, said Linda J. Lipsky, a restaurant consultant in Broomall: "Given the option, they will drop it."
Philadelphia basics
Philadelphia's mandate applies to restaurants, delis, bakeries, ice cream shops, and convenience stores with at least 15 other locations nationwide.
Enforcement of the ordinance, originally effective on Jan. 1, was officially delayed until the following dates to give restaurants more time to comply:
By tomorrow
Menu boards and food tags must contain the number of calories for each item.
Additional information (everything in the next section) must be made available in writing upon request.
By April 1
Individual menus must list number of calories; grams of saturated fat, trans fat, and carbohydrates; and milligrams of sodium with each item, including alcohol.
The information must be adjacent to each item, in a size and typeface similar to the price and description.
The menu must state federal recommendations for saturated fat (including trans fat) and sodium for a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet.
What else is included?
Drive-through menu boards and buffet food tags.
Takeout and delivery (full nutritional information on a wrapper or box).
What is excluded?
Specials or items offered fewer than 30 days a year.
Sealed packages (such as salad dressing) with the nutrition-facts label required by federal law.
Customer special requests ("hold the cheese") that do not appear on any menu or tag.
Enforcement
Variances may be granted by the city health commissioner so long as the nutritional information is provided at the point of customer decision-making.
Violations, punishable by a $150 fine upon a second citation, will be handled as part of the regular inspection procedure.
New Jersey basics
New Jersey's statute applies to retail food establishments with 20 or more locations.
Calories only must be listed next to each standard food and beverage item on menus and menu boards.
It will take effect next January.
Details of both new laws, plus video of a researcher discussing menu labeling and ordering tips for parents:
Contact staff writer Don Sapatkin at 215-854-2617 or dsapatkin@phillynews.com.
