HR 5563 109th Congress House

MEAL Act

Official title: 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 custom… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: 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.

Introduced: June 8, 2006 Introduced by: DeLauro, Rosa L. Democratic · Connecticut See on congress.gov

Agriculture and Food Administrative procedureCommerceConsumer educationDepartment of Health and Human Services

More subjectsShow fewer subjects

DietGovernment Operations and PoliticsLabelingLawNutritionRestaurantsSigns and signboardsVending machines

Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Jun 23, 2006

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Jun 8, 2006

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Jun 8, 2006

Introduced in House

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Latest action June 23, 2006

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Menu Education and Labeling Act or the MEAL Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to require restaurants that are a part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same trade name to disclose: (1) in a statement adjacent to each menu item, the number of calories, grams of saturated fat plus trans fat, and milligrams of sodium in a standard food serving; (2) other information designed to enable the public to understand the significance of the nutrition information provided in the context of a total daily diet; (3) that such information shall be provided in writing upon request; and (4) in a statement adjacent to the name of the food on a menu board, the number of calories in a serving of the food. Exempts condiments, items placed on a table or counter for general use, daily specials, temporary menu items, and irregular menu items from these requirements.

Requires restaurants that sell self-serve food, such as through salad bars or buffet lines, to place a sign that lists the number of calories per standard serving adjacent to each food offered.

Permits retail food establishments to voluntarily provide, and states to require, additional nutritional information.

Requires vending machine operators to provide a conspicuous sign disclosing the number of calories in each item of food offered.

Related & companion bills 1

Bill text 1 version