STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 

NEW YORK STATE RESTAURANT 

ASSOCIATION, 

Plaintiff, 

- against- No. 2007 Civ. 

NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF HEALTH, 

NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

AND MENTAL HYGIENE, and Thomas R. Frieden, DECLARATION OF 

In His Official Capacity as Commissioner : JULIE HAUGEN 

of the New York State Department of Health 

and Mental Hygiene, 

Defendants. 

JULIE HAUGEN hereby declares under penalty ofperjury: 

1. I am the Nutrition Manager for Burger King Corporation ("BKC"). I have served 

as BKC Nutrition Manager for more than two years. I earned a masters of science in nutrition 

science ~om Bastyr University, located in Seattle, Washington, in 2001. Bastyr University 

offers graduate and undergraduate study programs in natural health sciences and natural 

medicine. After receiving my masters degree, I served as the nutrition program manager for the 

Quinault Indian Nation, an American Indian Tribe in Taholah, Washington, developing and 

implementing a nutrition program for children and adult Tribe members. I am both a Registered 

Dietician and a Licensed Dietician. 

2. As BKC's Nutrition Manager, I am an integral part of developing and 

implementing BKC's nutrition strategy. I serve as a resource for the company product 

development teams, suggesting ways to improve the nutrition content of particular foods and to 

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that the overall menu we offer to customers has a better, more healthful nutritional 

profile. I am also responsible for enhancing and improving BKC's nutrition information and 

education program to meet the needs of our customers who are increasingly interested in dietary 

issues. 

BKC's Approach to Providing Nutrition Information 

3. BKC has been providing nutrition information to customers for more than ten 

years. Since I started managing BKC's nutrition program, each year we have provided more 

extensive nutrition and health information to consumers. Two facts confirm BKC's approach to 

providing nutrition information to consumers. 

4. First, to achieve a healthy diet, consumers must account for several nutritional 

components while being physically active. While calories play an important role in weight 

management, most nutritionists agree that overemphasis on one or a few nutrients is unlikely to 

help consumers properly manage their diet or health. For instance, proper weight management 

requires controlling both calories consumed and calories expended in physical activity. Many 

overweight or obese individuals have more health concerns than just weight alone, such as 

diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, all of which can play a role in the 

development of heart disease. Therefore, BKC seeks to make nutritional information meaningful 

by placing it in the context of customers' overall dietary needs. This approach is based on 

principles set forth in the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, ajoint publication of the Department of 

Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, which provides authoritative 

advice on proper dietary habits. A copy of the U.S. 2005 Dietary Guidelines is attached to the 

Appendix at Tab A. 

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Second, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation has 

conducted two studies showing that there is disconnect between consumers' general interest in 

eating healthier foods and controlling their weight, on the one hand, and their state of knowledge 

about the daily recommended intake of such nutrients, on the other hand. Researchers have 

found, for example, that nearly ninety percent of those studied could not correctly estimate the 

recommended number of calories per day for a person of their age and weight. See IFIC 

Foundation Food and Health Survey: Consumer Attitudes toward Food, Nutrition and Health 

2006 at 16-17 (copy attached to the Appendix at Tab B); IFIC Foundation 2007 Food and Health 

Survey: Consumer Attitudes toward Food, Nutrition and Health at 9-10 (copy attached to the 

Appendix at Tab C). 

BKC's Effort to Provide Nutrition Information to Customers 

6. Recognizing these facts, BKC has taken several steps to provide consumers with 

nutrition information and easy-to-use tools which enable them to use that information to manage 

their daily dietary needs. 

7. First, BKC requires that each U.S. Burger KingB restaurant post a 

comprehensive,asy-to-use nutrition poster in a prominent place in the dining area, usually at the 

end of the queue line. The nutrition poster, which is in full color and measures two feet by three 

feet, provides extensive nutrition information for all of our core menu items, including: name of 

the item, portion size (small, medium, large), serving size tin grams), calories, fat, saturated fat, 

trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, and protein. To assist those 

customers who are interested in more healthy options, the nutrition poster provides nutrition 

values of our WhopperB sandwiches both with and without mayonnaise, and of our salads with a 

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of dressing. The nutrition poster also lists the ingredients for each menu item for those 

customers with food allergies. 

8. The nutrition poster contains a section entitled "What's Your Eating Strategy?" 

subtitled "Stay calorie conscious and eat like a king!" in which we advise consumers on how to 

use nutrient information to manage their caloric, fat and sodium intake, via the "Quick Nutrition 

Guide." The recommendations are based on recognized authorities, such as the American Heart 

Association and the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. The "What's Your Eating Strategy?" section 

also suggests various menu ideas for main course, side and beverage menu items and offers tips 

to consumers on Burger KingB items that may be prepared in ways that lower their caloric, 

sodium and fat content. The nutrition poster makes these numbers meaningful by anchoring 

them to the Present Daily Values based on a 2000 calorie daily intake for these nutrients. The 

section reminds customers to balance calorie intake with their level of physical activity in order 

to properly manage their weight. 

9. Second, BKC's website at www.bk.com contains an extensive section on 

nutrition, receiving over 77,000 visits per month on average. There, customers can access a 

variety of nutrition information. 

a. Customers can download materials containing the nutrition profile of each 

of BKC's core menu items, including calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, 

sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars and protein. These nutrition materials are attached to this 

Declaration as Exhibit A. 

b. Customers can use the interactive "Build A Meal" function where they 

plan a meal and the website calculates the meal's nutrition content. The "Build A Meal" site 

receives 42,000 visitors a month. 

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To give this information context, the website introduces several healthy 

eating strategies in the "Tools to eat well! " section, a copy of which is attached to this 

Declaration as Exhibit B. Here, we explain to customers the importance and ease of using 

MyPyramid.gov (the Department ofAgriculture's interactive internet tool which helps 

customers follow the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines) to plan their diet. We also remind 

customers that the key to weight management is maintaining an energy balance through caloric 

intake and physical exercise. We further suggest that they visit the "Meal Planning" website 

sections for additional assistance. 

d. In the website's Meal Planning sections, we provide more detailed 

nutrition planning assistance, depending on each customer's dietary need or interest in managing 

a particular nutrient - either calories, fat or carbohydrates. "Watching Calories?" provides 

information on Burger KingB foods that fit into different calorie ranges; "Interested in 

Lowering the Fat?" gives food choices under 20 grams of fat, and "Counting Carbs" gives food 

choices that are low in carbs. Copies of these three sections are attached to this Declaration as 

Exhibit C. These Meal Planning sections provide tips on how to reduce consumption of the 

particular nutrient and point to Burger KingB menu items consistent with this goal. In the 

"Eating Strategy" section (attached as Exhibit E), we reinforce the "What's Your Eating 

Strategy?" information ~om the in-store nutrition poster, providing customers with a short list 

of healthier menu items along with their nutrition content and their Percentage Daily Values. 

This Eating Strategy section also hyperlinks customers to MyPyramid.gov, the 2005 U.S. 

Dietary Guidelines, and additional federal dietary guidelines for children. BKC is proud to be 

the first quick service restauranthat links directly to the government's MyPyramid.gov site. 

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Third, since March 2007, BKC has sponsored Healthy Dining Finder. Healthy 

Dining Finder is a public interest group created by nutritionists and public health experts. With 

partial funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the group created a website 

featuring participating restaurants' food items that meet the strict Healthy Dining criteria for 

nutritious food. Through the Healthy Dining Finder website at healthydinin~,finder.com, 

consumers throughout the country can learn of the healthier food options available at nearby 

restaurants, along with the food items' corresponding nutritional value. Currently, six of our 

menu items are listed on the Healthy Dining Finder website. The nutrition section of our website 

provides a hyperlink to the Healthy Dining Finder website. Our customers are using Healthy 

Dining Finder, with the Burger KingB section receiving 17,000 hits in March 2007 alone. We 

expect this number to increase as more consumers become aware of the service. All Burger 

KingB restaurants will receive decals to display in their windows that Burger KingB restaurants 

participate in Healthy Dining Finder. 

11. Fourth, many Burger KingB restaurants have available for consumers full color 

brochures which provide comprehensive information about the nutritional values of our menu 

items. Consumers can take the brochures home with them and refer to them as needed. A 

current brochure is attached as Exhibit D. 

12. Fifth, BKC is in the process of providing tray liners containing the complete 

nutrition profile of our menu: calories, fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates and 

protein. Through these tray liners, customers have easily accessible information on calories, fat 

etc. We also suggest on the tray liners that customers visit our website to customize their menu 

choices through the "Build A Meal" function. 

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Finally, BKC offers customers more nutritious menu options. On its value meals 

(which are numbered combinations of main course, side dish and beverage and can be ordered by 

number), customers can, in many U.S. markets, replace French Fries with a side salad at no 

additional cost. For children's value meals, we offer a side of applesauce instead of French 

Fries, and milk or apple juice instead of soft drinks. We also offer customers the BK VeggieB 

Burger and meal size TendergrillTM salads. Customers may order a lower fat version of our 

~t~hoppe~ sandwich which omits the mayonnaise. 

Objections to Regulation 81.50 

14. BKC strongly disagrees with New York City's regulation which requires it to 

isolate and post calorie information on menu boards in its restaurants. As most nutritionists 

know, overemphasis on any one nutrient such as calories can interfere with consumers obtaining 

a healthy, varied diet. Rather, BKC believes that nutrition information must be provided within 

the broader context of what it means to have a healthy diet, with an emphasis on consumers 

acquiring an energy balance while moderating intake ofnutrients such as sodium, fats, trans fats 

and cholesterol. This holistic approach, well-established among nutrition experts, is a main 

focus of the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. It also guides how BKC and Burger KingB 

restaurants currently provide nutrition information to customers. 

15. While calories are important, we disagree with the message that the New York 

regulation requires us to communicate to our customers. Limiting the information on menu 

boards to a single nutrient as a guideline to the healthfulness of a particular food is misleading 

and can cause consumers to make the wrong food choice for themselves. Some higher calorie 

food items have higher nutritional value than some lower calorie foods (e.g., 100% fruit juice or 

1% low fat milk vs. diet soda). People need to consume a range ofnutrients each day in order to 

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a healthy and balanced diet. Some low calorie foods have lower nutritional value than 

other foods with higher calories. By focusing solely on calories on the menu boards, the New 

York regulation will cause some consumers to select foods that are of lower nutritional value. 

Consumers need a complete nutritional profile for food items in order to make the best selection. 

16. Different consumers have different health and dietary needs. For example, 

consumers who are diabetic need to limit their carbohydrate intake. Focusing their attention 

exclusively on calories at the point of purchase -- as the New York regulation would require 

Burger King~ restaurants to do -- could lead them to make a food choice that is wrong for them 

because it could lead them to select a food based on calorie count, rather than on carbohydrate 

count, which is the main nutrient that should be of concern to them. 

17. Requiring BKC to publish the calorie count of foods alone and in isolation on the 

menu boards will undermine our carefully developed program to communicate nutrition 

information to our customers. Listing the calories on the menu boards will detract attention fkom 

the means of communication BKC has chosen to convey its nutritional message. If consumers in 

our restaurants see a single nutrient number for calories next to a menu item on the menu board, 

they will read that number and will pay less attention -- or no attention at all -- to the nutrition 

posters which list comprehensive nutrition information for each menu item. Customers will 

attribute to BKC the message that calories are the most important nutrient and that a single 

calorie number is all they need to know. While this may be the City's desired message, it is not 

the message that BKC wants to convey or with which it agrees. It is an oversimplified message, 

and one that does not have any sound scientific basis. 

18. In conclusion, we strongly oppose the New York City regulation. We think it 

overemphasizes the significance of calories in achieving a healthy and balanced diet. We do not 

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with the message it will force us to send to our customers. We believe it will undermine 

the nutritional message that we have carefully developed and chosen to send to our customers. 

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declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ~ 1746 that the foregoing is true 

and correct. 

Executed on June I ~ , 2007 

~~, R~ L~ 

Julie Ha~a~en 

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