Panera Removes Dyes, Additives from Foods

Menu Labeling

In March 2010, Congress passed a national law requiring chain restaurants with 20 or more outlets to list calories and other nutrition information on menus and menu boards. In December 2014, the Food and Drug Administration released final regulations for calorie labeling for standard menu items at chain food service establishments. In addition to fast-food and sit-down chain restaurants, the new regulations also require calorie labeling for prepared foods at supermarkets, convenience stores, and movie theaters. Calorie counts will be posted for all items, including alcoholic drinks, listed on menus and menu boards, and on display tags for salad bars, bakery items, and soda dispensers. A companion rule requires calorie labeling for vending machines. 

States and localities can support menu labeling and enhance its effectiveness by conducting campaigns and education programs to encourage healthy eating at restaurants and the use of the available nutrition information. Cities and states could expand access to nutrition information to more restaurants by requiring nutrition information in all restaurants (including those with less than 20 outlets nationally) or on state or local property, such as in cafeterias in government office buildings, publicly-funded hospitals, state universities, road-side rest stops, and state park concessions.

For more information, contact us at: policy@cspinet.org.


Menu Labeling Education Materials

Please share these materials with partners and through social media (Twitter, Facebook):


Resources / Background

Studies

Menu Labeling Polls:

State and Menu Labeling Policy map

See larger map version here.


Why expand menu labeling?

Menu labeling allows Americans to exercise personal responsibility and make informed choices for a growing part of their diets. Learn more here.
 

Menu Labeling Policies


Menu Labeling Education Programs

The national menu labeling law passed in March 2010. People across the country will have calorie counts on menus and menu boards at all chain restaurants and other food service establishments by May 2018. To make the most of this new information, we need education about and promotion of menu labeling.

New York State, New York City, and Seattle/King County (WA) had implemented menu labeling policies and campaigns to help people better use that information. The campaign summaries below provide examples, model materials, focus group reports, and other tools you might find helpful in conducting your own menu labeling education campaigns.


Examples of Policies in Non-Chain Restaurants


Take Action Today to Protect Menu Labeling: Oppose Efforts to Delay or Weaken Menu Labeling