Bill Text: IL HB0028 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Menu Education and Labeling Act of 2009. 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-13 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0028 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HB0028-Introduced.html

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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2009 and 2010 HB0028 Introduced 1/14/2009, by Rep. Mary E. Flowers SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Menu Education and Labeling Act of 2009. 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.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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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 of 2009.
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

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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

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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."