Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

5048

HOUSE BILL NO.
Introduced by REP. ANTHONY G, DEL ROSARIO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to require mandatory disclosure and display of nutritional
information of food offered on the menus and menu boards of restaurants and fast food
chain establishments and provide penalties for violation thereof.

The Constitution provides in Section 15 Avticle Il, that “The State shall protect
and promote the right to health of the people and instil! health consciousness among
them.” Likewise, in Section 12 Article Xill, it declares that “The State shall establish
and maintain an effective food and drug regulatory system and undertake appropriate
health manpower development and research, responsive to the country’s health needs
and problems.“

Being overweight or obese increases one’s risk of acquiring a number of
chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke,
hypertension, arthritis, and certain types of cancer. The World Health Organization
(WHO) expects the percentage of abese Filipino men over thirty to increase from 23%
of the population in 2005 to 24% in 2015, while the rate for women to increase from
34% in 2005 to 44% in 2015, The WHO also noted that 80% of premature heart
disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes and 40% of cancers could have been prevented
through a healthy diet.

The primary factors that bring about obesity in the general population are over-
consumption of food and physical inactivity. Most people who eat at restaurants and
fast food chain establishments tend to consume more food that have high calorie
content and less of the healthier and more nutritious food. This is because most people
are generally unaware or ill-informed of the calorie and nutritional content of the food
they eat and this leads to a pattem of unhealthy eating that eventually cause obesity
and a myriad of health problems.

Due to the proliferation of restaurants and fast food chains, a substantial
portion of the average Filipino's diet is increasingly being made up of “fast food” from
these establishments. Providing consumers specific data and information regarding the
amount of calories and other nutritional information about the food sold in restaurants
and fast food chains would help them decide and choose more appropriate and heathy
food.

Mandatory disclosure and display of nutrition information for food offered on the
menus and menu boards of restaurants and fast food chains will not only help minimize
the health hazards that over-consumption of calories and poor nutrition that can cause
to the public, it will also be a significant step towards achieving health consciousness


among Filipinas.

n view of the foregoing, passage of this bill is eammestly encouraged.

G. DEt ROSARIO


Republic of the Phifippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House BitLno.__5048

Introduced by REP. ANTHONY G. DEL ROSARIO

AN ACT
REQUIRING THE MANDATORY DISCLOSURE AND DISPLAY OF NUTRITIONAL
CONTENT INFORMATION OF FOOD ON THE MENUS AND MENU BOARDS OF
RESTAURANTS AND FAST FOOD CHAIN ESTABLISHMENTS AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Food Nutrition
Information Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared the policy of the
State to protect and promote the right of the people to good health. Towards this end,
the State hereby mandates the disclosure and display of the nutrition content
information of food on the menus and menu boards of restaurants and fast food chain
establishments to help Filipinos make healthier food choices and reduce the hazards of
over-consumption of calories that ruin the health of Filipinos,

SEC. 3. Definition of terms. — As used in this Act:

a) Fast food chain refers to any food retail establishment that is part of an
affiliation of ten (10) or more food retail establishments, doing business under the same
name, regardless of its type of ownership, and selling substantially the same menu
items in standard content and portion servings;

b) Food item refers to a unit serving of a ready-to-eat food or beverage for
sale at a restaurant or food retail establishment;

c) Food-on-display refers to food offered for sale that is visible to a customer


before making a selection, and needs no further preparation before consumption;

d) Standard menu item means any individual food item, or combination of
food items that is routinely listed on a menu or menu board, or routinely offered as food-
on-display or self-service food and offered for sale by a restaurant or fast food chain
establishment; and

e) Seff-service food refers to food and beverages that the consumers serve
themselves, inciuding food offered for sale at a salad bar, buffet line, cafeteria line, or
similar self-service facility.

SEC, 4. Disclosure of Nutrition Information. — Ail restaurant and fast food
chain establishments nationwide are hereby required to disclose and display the
nutrient content information of each standard menu item on their menus and menu
boards as usually prepared and sold to the public, For restaurants and fast food chain
establishments offering self-service food and food-on-display, the nutrient content
information per item or serving shall be posted on a sign adjacent to such food,

The nutrition information shail indicate the amount of each of the following:

a}

Total fat;

b)

Saturated fat;

°)

Cholesterol;
d) Sodium;

e)

Total carbohydrates;
f) Complex carbohydrates;
g) Sugars;

hi

Dietary fiber, and

Total protein
Disclosure and display of nutrition information shall not apply to custom orders on
food that is part of a customary market test or temporary menu items

SEC. 5, Calorie Content. - The disclosure of nutrition content information


by restaurants and fast food chain establishments, as required in the preceding section,
shalt indicate the calories contained in a standard menu item to the nearest 5-calorie
increment up to and including 50 calories, to the nearest 10-calorie increment above 50
calories and for foods that have fewer than 5 calories, the declaration may be
expressed as zero.

SEC. 6. Disclosure Compliance Certificate. - All restaurants and fast
food chain establishments are hereby directed to apply for and secure, as an additional
requirement for their operation, within six (6) months from the effectively of this Act, a
Nutrition Disclosure Compliance Certificate (NDCC) from the Department of Health
(DOH). The NDCC issued by the DOH shall be valid for two (2) years from the date of
issue and may be renewed at least thirty (30) days before its expiration. The DOH may
refuse to renew the NDCC of any restaurant or fast food chain establishment found to
be in violation of this Act.

Failure of any restaurant or fast food chain establishment to secure a Nutrition
Disclosure Compliance Certificate shall be a ground for the suspension or revocation of
its license to operate.

SEC. 7. Penalties. -- A fine not less than Twenty thousand Pesos (P20,000)
but not more than One Hundred thousand Pesos (P100,000) shall be imposed upon any
person operating a restaurant or fast food chain establishment found to have failed to
comply with the mandatory nutrition information disclosures or had declared false or
grossly inaccurate nutrition information regarding the amount of calories or nutrients
contained in their standard menu items.

SEC. 8. Implemonting Rules and Reguiations. ~ The Secretary of Health
shall, within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, issue the necessary nules
and regulations for the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,

executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to


or inconsistent with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended
accordingly.

SEC. 10. _Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of
generat circulation.

Approved,