Posted on 04/16/2008 10:52:44 AM PDT by SmithL
New York (AP) -- A federal judge on Wednesday upheld a city regulation requiring calories to be posted on the menu boards of some chain restaurants, calling the rule a reasonable approach to health officials' goal of reducing obesity.
The judge turned back a challenge from the New York State Restaurant Association, a voice for the food service industry.
"It seems reasonable to expect that some consumers will use the information disclosed ... to select lower calorie meals ... and these choices will lead to a lower incidence of obesity," U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell said.
New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene believes the regulation, which takes effect Monday, will prevent 130,000 New Yorkers from becoming obese and will stop another 30,000 from developing diabetes over the next five years.
"We just want people to have the information available to them to make healthful decisions," said health department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti.
The new rule applies to restaurants in the city that are part of chains with at least 15 outlets across the country. That includes fast-food places like McDonald's and such sit-down chains such as Olive Garden and T.G.I. Friday's.
The city Board of Health voted unanimously in January to approve the regulation, a new version of a rule that had been struck down by a judge last year after a challenge from the restaurant association.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
They pull them out of their hind quarters.
The costs of determining the calorie count for the items on the menu is spread out among all the restaurants in the chain.
The law places a higher burden on single restaurants and small chains than it does on large ones.
***Why not just give the businesses that volunteer to do so a tax cut.***
How true.
It costs the restaurants more to decide how many calories are in each dish, and still more to print up the information for the customers.
I think all courts should post a list of a judge’s political patrons,political donations and past rulings. Just to be fair.
Let the board of health weigh the list of calories, they seem to have time on their hands. Or better yet mandate that restaurants offer a uniform diet of gruel.
And where do they get these figures?
They make them up.
HTH
...it seems reasonable to expect that some consumers will use the information disclosed
Between 86.7% and 92.4% of all statistics you read in the MSM, or on the Internet are just made up on the spot.
Do you think they are going to require a registration and waiting period for Cuisinarts and Kitchen Aids?
Viking—that’s the Mossberg of mixers.
I'm sure they would have recognized that there is no right to buy or sell food. If the government decides it is in the interests of the people, all food sales shall be halted. Every single person that I know of who has died, ate food at some time in their lives. It's very dangerous stuff.
If New York City government does something, that automatically makes it a bad idea.
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