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IS OTE: DEC 16

Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Meteo Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

5823
House Bill No.__

INTRODUCED BY
REP. ALFRED VARGAS

AN ACT
MANDATING THE DISPLAY OF NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE
MENU OF FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The presence of nutritional information on the food we eat helps people
maintain their healthy diet and nutrition. This in turn, helps prevent the rise of
various diseases attributed to an unhealthy diet.

The World Health Organization indicates that 80 percent of premature heart
disease, stroke, and Type II Diabetes and 40 percent of cancers can be prevented
through a healthy diet. Thus, consumers have now become more discerning in
their choice of food, always checking the nutritional information and calorie count
in food labels. Filipinos, however, are not as informed when dining in restaurants.
They are often unaware of the calorie and nutritional content of a meal, leading
them or misleading them into an unhealthy eating pattern.

This bill aims to mandate the disclosure and display of the nutrition content
information on each standard menu in all types of restaurants, including fast food

chains, in order to enable and empower consumers with the right to choose the
food they want to eat without compromising their health.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sou;

FRED VARGAS


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 5823

INTRODUCED BY
REP. ALFRED VARGAS

AN ACT
MANDATING THE DISPLAY OF NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE
MENU OF FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Menu Nutritional
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.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms shall
mean:

(a) Food establishment - 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 items - a unit serving of a ready-to-eat food or beverage for sale in
a restaurant or food retail establishments.

(c) Food-on-display - 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 - many individual food item or combination of food
items that is routinely listed on a menu or menu board, or routinely
offered for sale by a restaurant or fast food chain establishment.

(c) Menu - a printed list or pictorial display of food items or combination of
food items and their prices posted in and visible within a fast food chain
as defined in this Act, including menus distributed or provided outside
of the establishment.

() Menu board - any list or pictorial display of food items and their prices
posted in and visible within or outside a fast food chain as defined in
this Act, including drive thru menu boards.

(g) Self-service food - food and beverages that the consumers serve
themselves, including food offered for sale at a salad bar, buffet line,
cafeteria line, or similar self-service facility.

SEC. 4. Disclosure of Nutrition Information. - All food establishments, as
defined in this Act, 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. Food 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 shall indicate the amount of each of the following:

(a) Total fat;

(b) Saturated fat;

(c) Cholesterol;

(d) Sodium;

(c) Total carbohydrates;

() Complex; carbohydrates;
(g) Sugars;

(h) Dietary fiber; and

(i 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 food establishments, as required in the preceding section, shall indicate
the calories contained in a standard menu item to the nearest five-calorie
increment up to and including fifty (50) calories, to the nearest ten-calorie
increment above fifty (50) calories.


For foods that have fewer than five (5) calories, the declaration may be
expressed as zero (0).

SEC. 6. Disclosure Compliance Certificate. - As an additional requirement
for their operation within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act, food
establishments are hereby directed to apply for and secure 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 issuance 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 of fast food chain establishment to secure a NDCC
shall be a ground for the suspension or revocation of its license to operate.

SEC. 7. Penalties. - A fine of not less than twenty thousand pesos (PHP
20,000) but not more than one hundred thousand pesos (PHP 100,000) shall
be imposed upon any person operating a food establishment found to have
failed to comply with the mandatory nutrition information regarding the
number of calories or nutrients contained in their standard menu items.

SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from
the effectivity of this Act, DOH shall promulgate the necessary rules and
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 9. Separability Clause. - Should any provision herein be declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions
of this Act.

SEC. 10. Repealing Clause - All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations
or other issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general
circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,