Last night the California Assembly passed a bill requiring calories on fast-food menu boards and additional nutrition information on chain-restaurants’ printed menus. Later today, the state’s Senate will consider separate legislation that would require restaurants to phase out their use of artificial trans fats. Both measures have the strong support of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to sign both bills.
California would become the first state in the country to require nutrition labeling on chain-restaurant menus. New York City and King County, Washington, which includes Seattle and its suburbs, have passed trans fat and menu labeling regulations, and Philadelphia's city council and Montgomery County, Maryland’s county council have also passed trans-fat phase-outs. Menu labeling bills have been introduced in 20 states and localities this year.
