Phila. to require menu labeling

After weighing in on health issues such as smoking and trans-fats, City Council today approved a menu-labeling ordinance that orders chain eateries to display nutritional information with menus.

The 12-5 vote came just before lunchtime.

The ordinance sponsored by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2010, applies to food establishments with 15 or more outlets. Included would be posh national brands such as the Palm and Smith & Wollensky; fast-food and quick-casual restaurants such as McDonald's, Applebee's and Subway (which does it now); plus spots such as Dunkin' Donuts, Rita's Water Ice and Starbucks, and convenience stores that serve prepared food, such as Wawa and 7-Eleven.

Independent operations - such as your corner pizzeria - are exempted. "We were not about to inhibit small business," said Joseph Meade, Reynolds Brown's legislative aide, who said district council members balked at including smaller outlets.

Menus will have to list calories, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates and sodium. Restaurants that use menu boards or tags need to display only calories per item.

Many chain restaurants now list nutritional information on their Web sites.

Reynolds Brown began lobbying for the bill in 2006 after hearing Health Department testimony. Meade said he was sent to New York City earlier this year to act as a guinea pig to see firsthand the city's menu-labeling law, which faced a court fight this spring. The food industry had argued that requiring calories on menus violated First Amendment rights.

"It opened my eyes," said Meade, who compared a bowl of broccoli-cheese soup against a Buffalo chicken salad at a TGI Friday's in Manhattan and found that the salad was the wiser choice. "It didn't deter me from ordering anything, but it does make you aware."