November 05, 2003
Contact: Erica Bohm (858) 541-2049, Sue Hensley (703) 582-8679

(Washington, DC) The National Restaurant Association today released the following statement in response to the introduction of the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act of 2003 by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

"If the aim is to effectively address the complex issue of obesity in America, this legislation mandating nutrition labeling for restaurant menus clearly misses the target. Seventy-six percent of meals continue to be eaten at home, but when Americans do dine out at one of the nation's 870,000 restaurants they find a wide variety of venues, menu items, and portion sizes —meeting customers' demands for choice, value and flexibility, as well as their tastes and dietary needs.

"As a result of the many choices that appear on our nation's restaurant menus, and people's desire to customize their order, there can be no feasible, one-size-fits-all application of menu labeling legislation. For example, a consumer buying a sandwich with 5 items or toppings (such as bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato) can order it 120 ways. Someone presented with 15 items for a sub or sandwich can order it 1.3 trillion ways – making accurate nutrition labeling virtually unattainable for restaurants.

"Furthermore, with the diversity of restaurant formats and ordering mechanisms, it is unlikely consumers would be able to experience the same continuity that they are accustomed to with the pre-packaged labeling program, creating even more uncertainty in an already confusing system. Labeling is not a panacea. We believe more education is needed to ensure Americans understand the information currently available on food labels and apply that information to obtain a healthy, balanced diet designed specifically for their body type and activity level.

"Currently, the great majority of quickservice chain restaurants have been proactively providing nutritional information to their consumers without intrusive government mandates for some time. The restaurant industry remains an industry of choice driven by consumer demand and many restaurants with standardized menus do provide nutritional information for customers through a system that is most workable for their business and their customers through brochures, posted signs, web sites and 1-800 numbers, making this legislation redundant."