[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2108 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2108

   To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure that 
    consumers receive information about the nutritional content of 
               restaurant food and vending machine food.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 24, 2004

Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Lieberman, and Ms. Cantwell) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure that 
    consumers receive information about the nutritional content of 
               restaurant food and vending machine food.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Menu Education and Labeling Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) research continues to reveal that--
                    (A) there is a strong link between diet and health; 
                and
                    (B) diet-related diseases start early in life;
            (2)(A) increased caloric intake is a key factor 
        contributing to the alarming increase in obesity in the United 
        States;
            (B) according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, \2/3\ of American adults are overweight or obese, 
        and the rates of obesity have doubled in children and tripled 
        in teens since 1980;
            (C) obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, 
        stroke, several types of cancer, and other health problems; and
            (D) the annual cost of obesity to families, businesses, and 
        governments in the United States is $117,000,000,000;
            (3) over the past 2 decades, there has been a significant 
        increase in the number of meals prepared or eaten outside the 
        home, with an estimated \1/3\ of calories and almost half of 
        total food dollars being spent on food purchased from or eaten 
        at restaurants and other food-service establishments;
            (4) while nutrition labeling is currently required on most 
        processed foods, nutrition information is required for 
        restaurant food only if a nutrient content or health claim is 
        made for a menu item;
            (5)(A) about 75 percent of adults report using food labels 
        on packaged foods, which are required by subsections (q) and 
        (r) of section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
        (21 U.S.C. 343); and
            (B) the use of food labels is associated with eating more 
        healthful diets, and approximately half of people report that 
        the nutrition information on food labels has caused them to 
        change their minds about buying a food product;
            (6)(A) it is difficult for consumers to limit their intake 
        of calories at restaurants, given the limited availability of 
        nutrition information and the popular practice of many 
        restaurants of providing foods in larger-than-standard servings 
        and super-sized portions; and
            (B) studies show that people eat greater quantities of food 
        when they are served more;
            (7)(A) available information suggests that consumers would 
        like to be provided nutritional information at restaurants; and
            (B) specifically, studies show that consumers would like 
        nutrition information to be provided at the time of ordering 
        their food at a restaurant, at the point of the sale, so as to 
        enable consumers to make an educated decision on what to order; 
        and
            (8) a call to action from the Surgeon General and Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services recommends that, to reduce the 
        incidence of obesity, there be increased availability of 
        nutrition information for foods eaten and prepared away from 
        home.

SEC. 3. NUTRITION LABELING OF RESTAURANT FOODS.

    Section 403(q)(5) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
U.S.C. 343(q)(5)(A)(i)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (A)--
                    (A) in subclause (i), by inserting ``except as 
                provided in clauses (H) and (I),'' before ``which'' the 
                first place it appears; and
                    (B) in subclause (ii), by inserting ``except as 
                provided in clauses (H) and (I),'' before ``which'' the 
                first place it appears; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(H) Restaurants and Retail Food Establishments.--
            ``(i) In general.--Except for food described in subclause 
        (iii), in the case of food that--
                    ``(I) is served in a restaurant or similar retail 
                food establishment; or
                    ``(II) is processed and prepared primarily in a 
                retail establishment;
        that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing 
        business under the same trade name (regardless of the type of 
        ownership of the locations), the restaurant of the 
        establishment shall disclose the information described in 
        subclause (ii).
            ``(ii) Information required to be disclosed.--Except as 
        provided in clause (iii), the establishment shall disclose--
                    ``(I)(aa) in a statement adjacent to the name of 
                the food on any menu listing the food for sale, or by 
                any other means approved by the Secretary, the number 
                of calories, grams of saturated fat plus trans fat, and 
                milligrams of sodium contained in a serving of the 
                food, as offered for sale, in a clear and conspicuous 
                manner; and
                    ``(bb) information, specified by the Secretary by 
                regulation, designed to enable the public to 
                understand, in the context of a total daily diet, the 
                significance of the nutrition information that is 
                provided; and
                    ``(II) in a statement adjacent to the name of the 
                food on any menu board or other sign listing the food 
for sale, or by any other means approved by the Secretary, the number 
of calories contained in a serving of the food, as offered for sale, in 
a clear and conspicuous manner.
            ``(iii) Nonapplicability to certain food.--This clause does 
        not apply to--
                    ``(I) items that are not listed on a menu or menu 
                board (such as condiments, other items placed on the 
                table or counter for general use, and items from salad 
                bars or other self-service facilities); or
                    ``(II) daily specials, temporary menu items, or 
                other irregular menu items, as specified by the 
                Secretary by regulation.
            ``(iv) Self-service facilities.--
                    ``(I) In general.--In the case of food sold at a 
                salad bar, buffet line, cafeteria line, or similar 
                self-service facility, a restaurant or other 
                establishment shall place a sign that lists calories 
                per standard serving adjacent to the name of each food 
                offered.
                    ``(II) Vending machines.--In the case of an article 
                of food sold from a vending machine or other 
                arrangement that does not permit a prospective 
                purchaser to examine the article so as to be able to 
                read a statement affixed to the article as required 
                under subclause (I) before purchasing the article, a 
                restaurant or other establishment (or, in the case of a 
                vending machine that is owned and operated by a vending 
                machine operator, the vending machine operator) shall 
                provide a conspicuous sign, in close proximity to the 
                article, identifying the food and including a statement 
                disclosing the number of calories contained in the 
                article.
            ``(v) Voluntary provision of nutrition information; state 
        regulation of nutrition information for restaurant food.--
                    ``(I) Retail food establishments.--Nothing in this 
                clause precludes a restaurant or similar retail food 
                establishment from providing additional nutrition 
                information, voluntarily, if the information complies 
                with the nutrition labeling requirements contained in 
                this subparagraph.
                    ``(II) State or local requirements.--Nothing in 
                this clause precludes a State or political subdivision 
                of a State from requiring that a restaurant or similar 
                food establishment provide nutrition information in 
                addition to that required under this clause.
            ``(vi) Regulations.--
                    ``(I) Proposed regulation.--Not later than 1 year 
                after the date of enactment of this clause, the 
                Secretary shall promulgate proposed regulations to 
                carry out this clause.
                    ``(II) Contents.--The regulations shall allow for 
                the variations in serving sizes and in food preparation 
                that can reasonably be expected to result from 
                inadvertent human error, training of food service 
                workers, and other factors.
                    ``(III) Final regulations.--Not later than 2 years 
                after the date of enactment of this clause, the 
                Secretary shall promulgate final regulations to 
                implement this clause.
                    ``(IV) Failure to promulgate final regulations by 
                required date.--If the Secretary does not promulgate 
                final regulations under item (III) by the date that is 
                2 years after the date of enactment of this clause--
                            ``(aa) the proposed regulations issued in 
                        accordance with item (I) shall become effective 
                        as the final regulations on the day after that 
                        date; and
                            ``(bb) the Secretary shall publish in the 
                        Federal Register notice of the final 
                        regulations.
    ``(I) Vending Machines.--
            ``(i) In general.--In the case of an article of food sold 
        from a vending machine that--
                    ``(I) does not permit a prospective purchaser to 
                examine the article so as to be able to read a 
                statement affixed to the article before purchasing the 
                article; and
                    ``(II) is operated by a person that is engaged in 
                the business of owning and operating 20 or more vending 
                machines;
        the vending machine operator shall provide a conspicuous sign, 
        in close proximity to the article, identifying the food and 
        including a statement disclosing the number of calories 
        contained in the article.
            ``(ii) Voluntary provision of nutrition information; state 
        regulation of nutrition information for vending machines.--
                    ``(I) Vending machine operators.--Nothing in this 
                clause precludes a vending machine operator from 
                providing additional nutrition information, 
                voluntarily, if the information complies with the 
                nutrition labeling requirements contained in this 
                subparagraph.
                    ``(II) State or local requirements.--Nothing in 
                this title precludes a State or political subdivision 
                of a State from requiring that a vending machine 
                operator provide nutrition information in addition to 
                that required under this clause.
            ``(iii) Regulations.--
                    ``(I) Proposed regulation.--Not later than 1 year 
                after the date of enactment of this clause, the 
                Secretary shall promulgate proposed regulations to 
                carry out this clause.
                    ``(II) Final regulations.--Not later than 2 years 
                after the date of enactment of this clause, the 
                Secretary shall promulgate final regulations to 
                implement this clause.
                    ``(III) Failure to promulgate final regulations by 
                required date.--If the Secretary does not promulgate 
                final regulations under item (II) by the date that is 2 
                years after the date of enactment of this clause--
                            ``(aa) the proposed regulations issued in 
                        accordance with item (I) shall become effective 
                        as the final regulations on the day after that 
                        date; and
                            ``(bb) the Secretary shall publish in the 
                        Federal Register notice of the final 
                        regulations.''.
                                 <all>