Montgomery to resume debate on restaurant nutrition labeling
By: Alan Suderman
Examiner Staff Writer
October 26, 2009
The Montgomery County Council is set to resume debate this week over whether chain restaurants should have to include in their menus the amount of calories, fat and sodium of the food they sell.
Councilman George Leventhal, D-at large, introduced a bill in 2007 requiring restaurants with 10 or more facilities nationally to post nutritional information on their menus and menu boards in all of their Montgomery County locations. A committee held work sessions on the bill, but the full council never voted on the proposed legislation.
Food for thoughtLeventhal has scheduled the bill to be heard by the Health and Human Services Committee, which he heads, on Thursday. He could not be reached for comment, but in the past has said lawmakers need to address the problems caused by America's unhealthy eating habits.Jurisdictions where restaurant nutrition labeling has been implemented:
» Multnomah County, Ore.
» King County, Wash.
» New York City
» Westchester County, N.Y.
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest
"The point that I'm trying to get across to people is everyone looks to government to reduce the crime rate, improve highway and pedestrian safety," Leventhal said when he introduced the bill. "Yet heart disease kills far more Americans than traffic accidents and homicide. I do think it is valid for us as policymakers to consider what we are doing to improve the public health."
Montgomery County banned the use of partially hydrogenated oils in restaurants just before Leventhal's bill was introduced, becoming the first county in the country to do so.
New York City has passed nutrition labeling requirements, and similar legislation has been introduced at the federal level. A spokesman for the Restaurant Association of Maryland said his organization would prefer the issue be handled by Congress to ensure "nationwide uniformity."
Montgomery is home to 146 restaurant chains, with 732 individual facilities, that would be affected by Leventhal's bill, according to a 2007 count.
Opponents of the bill said it was unfair and would hurt small business owners. The owner of two International House of Pancakes restaurants in the county estimated that the bill would cause customers to take longer to read menus and make selections, leading to losses of more than $62,000 a year for a business centered on speedy service.
Councilman Mike Knapp, D-Germantown, said he understood the intentions behind the bill but thought the legislation may be "overreaching."
He said nutrition-conscious eaters already know that they aren't eating healthy when they order fast food.
"You've already made that calculation," Knapp said.
Supporters of the bill said the county's rising obesity levels, especially in children, require that consumers be able to make more informed choices about what they eat.
