Issue summaries:
Menu labeling

Restaurants would be required to provide detailed nutrition information for individual menu items, similar to the black and white labels found on retail foods.

How would this affect restaurants?

A common misperception is that labeling would affect only chain restaurants, and this might be the case, initially. But it is likely that lawmakers (and customers!) would soon expect all restaurants follow suit.

Think about how this would affect a restaurant's ability to honor customer requests for substitutions, offer daily specials, or even print a readable menu! Suppliers to the industry would also be affected.

Where does WRA stand on this issue?

Mandatory menu labeling is a simplistic approach that would burden not only restaurants, but also the state and local entities charged with enforcement. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to create mandates that our diverse and complex industry can reasonably comply with, and it will be costly to enforce such mandates.

Nutrition labeling itself isn't a bad idea. Indeed, as more customers grow interested in nutrition, demand for this type of information will increase. This is one reason many large chain operators have already invested in labeling. We expect that many successful independent restaurants will also make changes to meet customer demand for more nutrition information.

WRA encourages restaurants to voluntarily provide customers with as much nutrition information as they reasonably can. This might mean providing nutrition information for an entire menu, if practical and affordable. Or, it might mean labeling one or two entrees to start.

Update:

Currently, four states and Washington D.C. have menu labeling legislation pending. See map.