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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 12, 2014 03:02 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Gary Day |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Nutrional Information Act |
| Over the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of meals prepared or eaten outside the home, with an estimated one-third of calories being consumed in, and almost one-half of total food dollars being spent on food purchased from or eaten at restaurants and other food facilities. As you know, increased caloric intake is a key factor contributing to the alarming increase in obesity in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds of American adults are overweight and the rates of obesity have tripled in children and teens since 1980. Therefore, in the near future I plan to introduce legislation requiring retail food establishments in Pennsylvania to display calorie information on their menu boards for each standard menu item. A retail food establishment is defined as a restaurant that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations nationally, doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items. My legislation will also require retail food establishments to post a statement concerning suggested daily caloric intake. I believe that by increasing the availability of nutritional information regarding foods served at retail food establishments will allow customers to make more informed decision about the food they purchase. |
Introduced as HB798