LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Health department inspectors in Louisville have picked up a new responsibility — checking on the compliance of a new ordinance requiring some restaurants to make caloric and other nutritional information available on site.
Connie Mendel with the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness says nutritional information is important for restaurant-goers. She told The Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/QOYZF9) that the new law is a “small step” toward combating high obesity rates, without a big financial cost for restaurants.
The ordinance passed by the Metro Council in August affects only a narrow group. It requires the in-store postings only at restaurants that already, voluntarily, post the information on their websites.
Mendel said that’s only about 200 of the 3,000 restaurants her staff inspects in Jefferson County.
Metro Council member Vicki Aubrey Welch, a primary sponsor of the new law, said the information is especially important to heart patients and diabetics “who need to know what’s in the meals.”
Although the measure could have been tougher, she said, the council sees it as a worthwhile first step and noted that the council also wanted a regulation that would not burden businesses. She said the regulation should not “cost the businesses a dime,” because they can simply print the data from their websites and “paste it on the wall.”
Local Health Department spokesman Dave Langdon said health officials believe more restaurants, over time, will make nutritional information available. He said that restaurants that don’t provide the information may hear a steady stream of customers asking for the data.
The effort was applauded by Susan Barth, a retired nurse who was at a KingFish restaurant celebrating her birthday.
“Obesity is a serious problem, and we need to be aware of what we are consuming,” she said.
For at least a year, patrons of the KingFish restaurant could find, online, the calorie count and fat content for the fish, hush puppies and other items served there. Now, that same information must be posted at the restaurant itself.
City health department inspectors began checking on compliance with the law on Monday.
Mendel said the department plans to check for the posting only on a restaurant’s regular inspection cycle. The ordinance provides for violators to have 14 days to get into compliance, once warned, or face a $25-per-day fine.
The ordinance exempts restaurants that don’t list the data on a website or have more than 20 outlets nationally.
The exemption for large chains means major fast-food stores fall outside the regulation. However, the federal Affordable Care Act requires restaurants with more than 20 locations to display caloric information on lighted menu boards behind the counter, on the menu itself or in a separate printed pamphlet available upon request.
