Local and state governments continue to develop and pass legislation requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus and menu boards, despite the inclusion of a national standard in the federal health care reform package. New Jersey is the latest state to approve menu labeling legislation, with lawmakers there this week passing a bill that will require chain restaurants with more than 20 locations nationally to post calories on menus and menu boards, according to NJ.com. The bill now moves to the governor's desk.
If signed into law, New Jersey would become the fifth state to require menu labeling, following the lead of California, Maine, Massachusetts and Oregon. According to Nation's Restaurant News, outgoing New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has said he would sign the legislation.
Those states may be joined by a sixth, with Kentucky legislators working on a bill to require restaurant chains with more than 20 nationwide locations to post calories, according to WHAS 11 News.
Both versions of the national health care reform legislation include a similar language regarding a federal standard for posting nutrition information at chain restaurants.
