HB5036 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB5036

Introduced 1/25/2010, by Rep. Mary E. Flowers

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Menu Education and Labeling Act. Requires restaurants and similar retail food establishments to post a sign informing their customers that certain foods on their menus may be high in calories, grams of saturated fat plus trans fat, and milligrams of sodium per serving, which has been known to cause diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Menu Education and Labeling Act.

Section 5. Legislative findings.

(a) Research continues to reveal the strong link between diet and health, and that diet related diseases start early in life.

(b) Increased caloric intake is a key factor contributing to the alarming increase in obesity in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and the rates of obesity have doubled in children and tripled in teens since 1980. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other health problems. Each year obesity costs families, businesses, and the government $117 billion.

(c) Excess saturated fat intake is a major risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. While it is often thought to primarily affect men and older people, cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of women and kills 61,000 people between the ages of 45 and 64 each year. Heart disease is also a leading cause of disability among working adults and its impact on the U.S. economy is significant, estimated in 2004 to cost $368 billion in health care expenditures and lost productivity.

(d) Increased sodium intake is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension, a condition that can lead to cardiovascular disease, especially stroke. The proportion of Americans with high blood pressure is 45% at age 50, 60% at age 60, and over 70% at age 70.

(e) Over the past 2 decades there has been a significant increase in the number of meals prepared and eaten outside the home, with an estimated one-third of calories and almost half (46%) of total food dollars being spent on food purchased from and eaten at restaurants and other food-service establishments.

(f) While nutrition labeling is currently required on most processed foods, such information is required only for restaurant foods for which nutrient content or health claims are made.

(g) Three-quarters of American adults report using food labels on packaged foods, which are required by the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. Using food labels is associated with eating a more healthy diet, and approximately half (48%) of people report that the nutrition information on food labels has caused them to change their minds about buying a food product.

(h) It is difficult for consumers to limit their intake of calories at restaurants, given the limited availability of nutrition information as well as the popular practice by many restaurants of providing foods in larger-than-standard servings and super-sized portions. Studies show that people eat greater quantities of food when they are served more.

Section 10. Nutritional label information. Restaurants and similar retail food establishments shall post a sign no smaller than 8 inches by 5 inches stating that, "Certain foods on the menu may be high in calories, grams of saturated fat plus trans fat, and milligrams of sodium per serving, which has been known to cause diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.".