II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3484 

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to extend the food 

labeling requirements of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 

1990 to enable customers to make informed choices about the nutritional 

content of standard menu items in large chain restaurants. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 8, 2006 

Mr. HARKIN (for himself 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 

extend the food labeling requirements of the Nutrition 

Labeling and Education Act of 1990 to enable customers 

to make informed choices about the nutritional content 

of standard menu items in large chain restaurants. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Menu Education and 

5 Labeling Act’’ or the ‘‘MEAL Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) research continues to reveal that— 

2 (A) there is a strong link between diet and 

3 health; and 

4 (B) diet-related diseases start early in life; 

5 (2)(A) increased caloric intake is a key factor 

6 contributing to the alarming increase in obesity in 

7 the United States; 

8 (B) according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 9 ⁄3 of American adults are over10 weight or obese, and the rates of obesity have dou11 bled in children and tripled in teens since 1980; 

12 (C) obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart 

13 disease, stroke, several types of cancer, and other 

14 health problems; and 

15 (D) the annual cost of obesity to families, busi16 nesses, and governments in the United States is 

17 $117,000,000,000; 

18 (3) over the past 2 decades, there has been a 

19 significant increase in the number of meals prepared 

or eaten outside the home, with an estimated 1 20 ⁄3 of 

21 calories and almost half of total food dollars being 

22 spent on food purchased from or eaten at res23 taurants and other food-service establishments; 


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1 (4)(A) excess saturated fat intake is a major 

2 risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading 

3 cause of death in the United States; and 

4 (B) heart disease is a leading cause of disability 

5 among working adults and its impact on the United 

6 States economy is significant, estimated in 2005 to 

7 total $142,000,000,000 in healthcare expenditures 

8 and lost productivity; 

9 (5)(A) increased sodium intake is associated 

10 with increased risk of high blood pressure, or hyper11 tension, a condition that can lead to cardiovascular 

12 disease, especially stroke; and 

13 (B) the proportion of adults with high blood 

14 pressure is 45 percent at age 50, 60 percent at age 

15 60, and more than 70 percent at age 70; 

16 (6) the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act 

17 of 1990 (Public Law 101–535) requires food manu18 facturers to provide nutrition information on almost 

19 all packaged foods, however, restaurant foods are ex20 empt from those requirements unless a nutrient con21 tent or health claim is made for a menu item; 

22 (7) about 75 percent of adults report using food 

23 labels on packaged foods, which is associated with 

24 eating more healthful diets, and approximately half 

25 of people report that the nutrition information on 


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1 food labels has caused them to change their minds 

2 about buying a food product; 

3 (8) it is difficult for consumers to limit their in4 take of calories at restaurants, given the limited 

5 availability of nutrition information; 

6 (9) studies show that consumers would like nu7 trition information to be provided at the time of or8 dering their food at a restaurant, at the point of the 

9 sale, so as to enable them to make an educated deci10 sion regarding what to order; and 

11 (10) a call to action from the Surgeon General 

12 and Secretary of Health and Human Services rec13 ommends that, to reduce the incidence of obesity, 

14 there be increased availability of nutrition informa15 tion for foods eaten and prepared away from home. 

16 SEC. 3. NUTRITION LABELING OF STANDARD MENU ITEMS 

17 AT CHAIN RESTAURANTS. 

18 Section 403(q)(5) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

19 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343(q)(5)(A)(i)) is amended— 

20 (1) in clause (A)— 

21 (A) in subclause (i), by inserting ‘‘except 

22 as provided in clauses (H) and (I),’’ before 

23 ‘‘which’’ the first place it appears; and 


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1 (B) in subclause (ii), by inserting ‘‘except 

2 as provided in clauses (H) and (I),’’ before 

3 ‘‘which’’ the first place it appears; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(H) RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISH6 MENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except for food described in 

8 subclause (iii), in the case of food that is served, 

9 processed, or prepared in a restaurant or similar re10 tail food establishment that is part of a chain with 

11 20 or more locations doing business under the same 

12 trade name (regardless of the type of ownership of 

13 the locations), the restaurant or establishment shall 

14 disclose the information described in subclause (ii). 

15 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE DIS16 CLOSED.—Except as provided in subclause (iii), the 

17 establishment shall disclose— 

18 ‘‘(I)(aa) in a statement adjacent to the 

19 name of the food on any menu listing the food 

20 for sale, or by any other means deemed equiva21 lent by the Secretary, the number of calories, 

22 grams of saturated fat plus trans fat, and milli23 grams of sodium contained in a standard serv24 ing of the food, as usually offered for sale, in 

25 a clear and conspicuous manner; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) information, specified by the Sec2 retary by regulation, designed to enable the 

3 public to understand, in the context of a total 

4 daily diet, the significance of the nutrition in5 formation that is provided; and 

6 ‘‘(II) in a statement adjacent to the name 

7 of the food on any menu board or other sign 

8 listing the food for sale, or by any other means 

9 deemed equivalent by the Secretary— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the number of calories con11 tained in a serving of the food, as usually 

12 offered for sale, in a clear and conspicuous 

13 manner; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) notification that the information 

15 required by subitems (aa) and (bb) of item 

16 (I) shall be provided in writing at the re17 quest of a prospective purchaser. 

18 ‘‘(iii) NONAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN FOOD.— 

19 This clause does not apply to— 

20 ‘‘(I) items that are not listed on a menu or 

21 menu board (such as condiments and other 

22 items placed on the table or counter for general 

23 use); or 


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1 ‘‘(II) daily specials, temporary menu items, 

2 or other irregular menu items, as specified by 

3 the Secretary by regulation. 

4 ‘‘(iv) SELF-SERVICE FACILITIES.—In the case 

5 of food sold at a salad bar, buffet line, cafeteria line, 

6 or similar self-service facility, a restaurant or other 

7 establishment shall place a sign that lists calories 

8 per standard serving adjacent to each food offered. 

9 ‘‘(v) VOLUNTARY PROVISION OF NUTRITION IN10 FORMATION; STATE REGULATION OF NUTRITION IN11 FORMATION FOR RESTAURANT FOOD.— 

12 ‘‘(I) RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS.— 

13 Nothing in this clause precludes a restaurant or 

14 similar retail food establishment from providing 

15 additional nutrition information, voluntarily, if 

16 the information complies with the nutrition la17 beling requirements contained in this subpara18 graph. 

19 ‘‘(II) STATE OR LOCAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 Nothing in this clause precludes a State or po21 litical subdivision of a State from requiring that 

22 a restaurant or similar food establishment pro23 vide nutrition information in addition to that 

24 required under this clause. 

25 ‘‘(vi) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) PROPOSED REGULATION.—Not later 

2 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

3 clause, the Secretary shall promulgate proposed 

4 regulations to carry out this clause. 

5 ‘‘(II) CONTENTS.—The regulations shall 

6 allow for the variations in serving sizes and in 

7 food preparation that can reasonably be ex8 pected to result from inadvertent human error, 

9 training of food service workers, and other fac10 tors. 

11 ‘‘(III) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later 

12 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

13 clause, the Secretary shall promulgate final reg14 ulations to implement this clause. 

15 ‘‘(IV) FAILURE TO PROMULGATE FINAL

16 REGULATIONS BY REQUIRED DATE.—If the Sec17 retary does not promulgate final regulations 

18 under item (III) by the date that is 2 years 

19 after the date of enactment of this clause— 

20 ‘‘(aa) the proposed regulations issued 

21 in accordance with item (I) shall become 

22 effective as the final regulations on the day 

23 after that date; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the Secretary shall publish in 

2 the Federal Register notice of the final 

3 regulations. 

4 ‘‘(I) VENDING MACHINES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an article of 

6 food sold from a vending machine that— 

7 ‘‘(I) does not permit a prospective pur8 chaser to examine the article so as to be able 

9 to read a statement affixed to the article before 

10 purchasing the article; and 

11 ‘‘(II) is operated by a person that is en12 gaged in the business of owning and operating 

13 20 or more vending machines; 

14 the vending machine operator shall provide a con15 spicuous sign in close proximity to the article that 

16 includes a statement disclosing the number of cal17 ories contained in the article. 

18 ‘‘(ii) VOLUNTARY PROVISION OF NUTRITION IN19 FORMATION; STATE REGULATION OF NUTRITION IN20 FORMATION FOR VENDING MACHINES.— 

21 ‘‘(I) VENDING MACHINE OPERATORS.— 

22 Nothing in this clause precludes a vending ma23 chine operator from providing additional nutri24 tion information, voluntarily, if the information 


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1 complies with the nutrition labeling require2 ments contained in this subparagraph. 

3 ‘‘(II) STATE OR LOCAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 Nothing in this title precludes a State or polit5 ical subdivision of a State from requiring that 

6 a vending machine operator provide nutrition 

7 information in addition to that required under 

8 this clause. 

9 ‘‘(iii) REGULATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(I) PROPOSED REGULATION.—Not later 

11 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

12 clause, the Secretary shall promulgate proposed 

13 regulations to carry out this clause. 

14 ‘‘(II) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later 

15 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

16 clause, the Secretary shall promulgate final reg17 ulations to implement this clause. 

18 ‘‘(III) FAILURE TO PROMULGATE FINAL

19 REGULATIONS BY REQUIRED DATE.—If the Sec20 retary does not promulgate final regulations 

21 under item (II) by the date that is 2 years after 

22 the date of enactment of this clause— 

23 ‘‘(aa) the proposed regulations issued 

24 in accordance with item (I) shall become 


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1 effective as the final regulations on the day 

2 after that date; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) the Secretary shall publish in 

4 the Federal Register notice of the final 

5 regulations.’’. 

Æ 


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