Washington » Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, introduced legislation Tuesday to establish a national standard for restaurants to display nutrition information on menus.
The bill -- called the Labeling Education and Nutrition Act or the LEAN Act -- would require fast-food restaurants to display calorie counts for every item on a menu board or on an additional display. Shops with printed menus could add it to those or offer an additional form.
"Currently there is a mishmash of state and local standards about how calories and other nutritional information are to be displayed," Matheson said.
He added that the LEAN Act is a "reasonable response" to informing customers without putting undue expense or burdensome regulation on an industry.
The bill's primary objective is calorie counting, Matheson said, but it also allows the Food and Drug Administration to require additional information.
Restaurants with at least 20 U.S. locations would be affected.
The National Restaurant Association and the Coalition for Responsible Nutrition Information back Matheson's bill.
Utah has no restaurant menu standard and no elected official has proposed one. Instead, Utah lawmakers are considering forbidding local governments from mandating calorie counts. SB213 has passed the state Senate and awaits action in the House.
Utah Restaurant Association President Melva Sine says Matheson's bill will help her industry.
"It provides uniformity and consistency across the country," Sine said in a statement, "and it is a positive development for restaurants, their employees and their customers."
