I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5563 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2006 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. 
CAPPS, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
HINCHEY, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. LEE, Ms. ZOE 
LOFGREN of California, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. 
OWENS, and Mr. WAXMAN) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Menu Education and 
Labeling Act’’ or the ‘‘MEAL Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) research continues to reveal that— 
(A) there is a strong link between diet and 
health; and 
(B) diet-related diseases start early in life; 
(2)(A) increased caloric intake is a key factor 
contributing to the alarming increase in obesity in 
the United States; 
(B) according to the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, 2⁄3 of American adults are over-
weight or obese, and the rates of obesity have dou-
bled in children and tripled in teens since 1980; 
(C) obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart 
disease, stroke, several types of cancer, and other 
health problems; and 
(D) the annual cost of obesity to families, busi-
nesses, and governments in the United States is 
$117,000,000,000; 
(3) over the past 2 decades, there has been a 
significant increase in the number of meals prepared 
or eaten outside the home, with an estimated 1⁄3 of 
calories and almost half of total food dollars being 
spent on food purchased from or eaten at res-
taurants and other food-service establishments; 
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(4)(A) excess saturated fat intake is a major 
risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading 
cause of death in the United States; and 
(B) heart disease is a leading cause of disability 
among working adults and its impact on the United 
States economy is significant, estimated in 2005 to 
total $142,000,000,000 in healthcare expenditures 
and lost productivity; 
(5)(A) increased sodium intake is associated 
with increased risk of high blood pressure, or hyper-
tension, a condition that can lead to cardiovascular 
disease, especially stroke; and 
(B) the proportion of adults with high blood 
pressure is 45 percent at age 50, 60 percent at age 
60, and more than 70 percent at age 70; 
(6) the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act 
of 1990 (Public Law 101–535) requires food manu-
facturers to provide nutrition information on almost 
all packaged foods, however, restaurant foods are ex-
empt from those requirements unless a nutrient con-
tent or health claim is made for a menu item; 
(7) about 75 percent of adults report using food 
labels on packaged foods, which is associated with 
eating more healthful diets, and approximately half 
of people report that the nutrition information on 
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food labels has caused them to change their minds 
about buying a food product; 
(8) it is difficult for consumers to limit their in-
take of calories at restaurants, given the limited 
availability of nutrition information; 
(9) studies show that consumers would like nu-
trition information to be provided at the time of or-
dering their food at a restaurant, at the point of the 
sale, so as to enable them to make an educated deci-
sion regarding what to order; and 
(10) a call to action from the Surgeon General 
and Secretary of Health and Human Services rec-
ommends that, to reduce the incidence of obesity, 
there be increased availability of nutrition informa-
tion for foods eaten and prepared away from home. 
SEC. 3. NUTRITION LABELING OF STANDARD MENU ITEMS 
AT CHAIN RESTAURANTS. 
Section 403(q)(5) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343(q)(5)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (A)— 
(A) in subclause (i), by inserting ‘‘except 
as provided in clauses (H) and (I),’’ before 
‘‘which’’ the first place it appears; and 
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(B) in subclause (ii), by inserting ‘‘except 
as provided in clauses (H) and (I),’’ before 
‘‘which’’ the first place it appears; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(H) RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISH-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except for food described in 
subclause (iii), in the case of food that is served, 
processed, or prepared in a restaurant or similar re-
tail food establishment that is part of a chain with 
20 or more locations doing business under the same 
trade name (regardless of the type of ownership of 
the locations), the restaurant or establishment shall 
disclose the information described in subclause (ii). 
‘‘(ii) INFORMATION
REQUIRED
TO
BE
DIS-
CLOSED.—Except as provided in subclause (iii), the 
establishment shall disclose— 
‘‘(I)(aa) in a statement adjacent to the 
name of the food on any menu listing the food 
for sale, or by any other means deemed equiva-
lent by the Secretary, the number of calories, 
grams of saturated fat plus trans fat, and milli-
grams of sodium contained in a standard serv-
ing of the food, as usually offered for sale, in 
a clear and conspicuous manner; and 
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