Item - 2013.HL21.2

Tracking Status

  • This item was considered by Board of Health on April 29, 2013 and was adopted with amendments.

HL21.2 - Menu Labelling - Making Key Nutrition Information Readily Available in Restaurants

Decision Type:
ACTION
Status:
Amended
Wards:
All

Board Decision

The Board of Health:

 

1.         Urged the Ontario Premier and the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to develop menu labelling legislation without further delay to support the public's right to know about nutrition content of restaurant foods. The provincial legislation should:

 

a.        Be directed to foodservice premises with ten or more outlets nationwide or at least $10 million in gross annual revenue;

b.        Require calories and sodium values to be listed on the menu and/or menu board for all standard menu items in the same font/font size as the price;

c.        Require that comprehensive nutrition information (i.e. calories plus 13 core nutrients) be made available to customers upon request at the point of purchase in the form of a pamphlet, brochure, or alternate format; and

d.       Require that contextual statements about daily recommended levels of calories and sodium be posted on the menu or menu board.

 

2.         Requested the Medical Officer of Health, in consultation with the City Solicitor and relevant stakeholders, to report to the Board of Health in the fall of 2013, if the provincial government has not proceeded with menu labelling legislation by September 1, 2013, on a proposed City by-law, that will require:

 

a.         Chain restaurants in Toronto with ten or more outlets nationwide or at least $10 million in gross annual revenues to post calories and sodium values on the menu or menu board for all standard menu items in the same font/font size as the price;

b.         Comprehensive nutrition information (i.e. calories plus 13 core nutrients) to be made available to customers upon request at the point of purchase in the form of a pamphlet, brochure, or alternate format; and

c.         Contextual statements about daily recommended levels of calories and sodium to be posted on the menu or menu board.

 

3.         Requested the Medical Officer of Health to report in the fall of 2013 on progress on the voluntary menu labelling pilot project with independent restaurants.

 

4.         Urged Boards of Health in the Greater Toronto Area and throughout Ontario to assist in expanding menu labelling legislation for chain restaurants and voluntary menu labelling initiatives for independent restaurants throughout the province of Ontario.

 

5.         Endorsed, in principle, the recommendations of No Time to Wait: The Healthy Kids Strategy, the 2012 report of the Ontario government's Healthy Kids Panel.

 

6.         Forwarded this report to Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ontario Public Health Association, Public Health Ontario, the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health, the Association of Local Public Health Agencies, the Ontario Medical Association, the Registered Nurses Association Ontario, the Ontario Stroke Network, Public Health Physicians of Canada, Dieticians of Canada, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Childhood Obesity Foundation, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest Canada, and the Fitness Industry Council of Canada.

 

7.         Forwarded this report to leaders of official Ontario parties to gain their support for provincial menu labelling regulation.

 

8.         Requested that the report by the Medical Officer of Health on the voluntary pilot project for restaurants below the ten outlet/$10 million gross revenue threshold consider recognition for restaurants which voluntarily list calorie and sodium content on menus.

 

9.         Requested that should the Province not indicate a willingness to act on the recommendations from the Medical Officer of Health, that a draft by-law be prepared for consideration by the Board of Health and that prior to bringing it forward, that Toronto Public Health staff consult with the industry regarding details of implementation.

Decision Advice and Other Information

The Medical Officer of Health gave a presentation.

Origin

(April 15, 2013) Report from the Medical Officer of Health

Summary

As families consume more of their meals outside the home, more attention is being given to addressing the association between eating out, poor nutrition and corresponding health concerns, such as obesity and hypertension. Menu labelling, whereby nutrition information is provided on restaurant menus or menu boards, is a policy option that can improve the restaurant food environment by ensuring consumers are better able to make informed and healthier choices when eating out.

 

Menu labelling legislation is recommended by diverse experts and health organizations internationally and in Canada. Most recently, the Healthy Kids Panel, created to advise the province, has identified menu labelling as a strategy to prevent childhood obesity.  In 2008, New York City was the first jurisdiction to enact menu labelling legislation that requires large chain restaurants to post calorie levels on menus and/or menu boards. In 2010, the United States federal government passed a similar law.

 

Voluntary nutrition information disclosure programs in Canada have not fully achieved the goals of providing simple, readily available information by which the public can make informed choices when they eat out. There is growing pressure in Canada for governments to expand on the U.S. model and mandate calorie and sodium labelling on the menu for larger chain restaurants.

 

Toronto Public Health (TPH) undertook a comprehensive examination of the evidence on menu labelling as a policy approach to promoting food transparency and supportive food environments for people who eat out, and conducted Toronto-based research and consul-tations with key stakeholders to assess the readiness for menu labelling in Toronto restau-rants. The findings are captured in the attached technical report, What's on the Menu? Making Key Nutrition Information Readily Available in Restaurants.

 

This Board of Health report summarizes the following from the technical report: the evidence on the benefits and effectiveness of and consumer demand for menu labelling, the current policy context in Canada for menu labelling, and Toronto data on the readiness for menu labelling from resident and restaurant industry perspectives. 

 

There is clear evidence that consumers support having nutrition information when dining out. Furthermore, menu labelling makes nutrition information more visible and more likely to be understood and used by consumers. Menu labelling is used by consumers to make healthier menu choices and can prompt restaurants to create healthier menu options.

 

This report identifies important actions related to menu labelling that can enhance the ability of Toronto residents to make informed food choices in restaurants. The Board is urged to advocate for provincial menu labelling legislation for larger chain restaurants. If provincial action is not forthcoming, the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) recommends that the Board request the MOH to explore options for a possible municipal menu labelling by-law. In the interim, to help level the playing field, TPH will work with independently owned restaurants and smaller chains on a pilot project in 2013-14 to test the feasibility of these restaurants implementing and sustaining menu labelling. Toronto Public Health is also launching a communication campaign this spring to increase awareness among Toronto consumers of the nutrition content of restaurant foods. The MOH will report back to the Board later this year on progress on these actions.

Background Information

(April 15, 2013) Staff Report from the Medical Officer of Health Re: Menu Labelling - Making Key Nutrition Information Readily Available in Restaurants
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-57581.pdf
(April 15, 2013) Attachment 1: What's on the Menu? Making Key Nutrition Information Readily Available in Restaurants. 2013 Report prepared for Toronto Public Health
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-57582.pdf
(April 29, 2013) Presentation from the Medical Officer of Health - Menu Labelling - Making Key Nutrition Information Readily Available in Restaurants
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-58082.pdf

Communications

(April 29, 2013) Submission from Bill Jeffery, LLB, Naional Co-ordinator, Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) - On File with City Clerk (HL.New.HL21.2.1)
(April 29, 2013) Submission from Renee Gaudet, Representative Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals - On File with City Clerk (HL.New.HL21.2.2)
(April 29, 2013) Submission from Stephanie Jones, MBA, Vice President, Ontario and Sustainability, Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association - On File With City Clerk (HL.Main.HL21.2.3)
(April 29, 2013) Submission from Nutrition Action Health Letter from Centre for Science in the Public Interest - On File With City Clerk (HL.New.HL21.2.4)

Speakers

Dr. Mary L'Abbe, PhD, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Bill Jeffery, LLB, National Coordinator, Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
Renee Gaudet, Representative, Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health (OSNPPH) (Submission Filed)
Rose Reisman, Digital Media and Communications Manager, Art of Living Well
Grace Valentini, Youth Health Action Network
Stephanie Jones, VP Ontario and Sustainability, Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (Submission Filed)
John Nunziata and, Leslie A. Smejkal, ORHMA and Marko Gotowiec, Ont Restaurant Hotel & Motel Assoc (Toronto)
Vlad Chenenko, President, Meal Garden Inc.

Motions

1 - Motion to Amend Item (Additional) moved by Suman Roy (Lost)

That the Board of Health:

 

1.         strike a Menu Labelling Working Group for the purpose of considering options for a proposed menu labeling regulation to report back to the Board no later than the September 30, 2013 meeting

 

2.         refer item HL21.2 to the Menu Labelling Working Group.


2 - Motion to Amend Motion moved by Kristle Calisto-Tavares (Redundant)

That Part 1 of Suman Roy's motion be amended to add the words "of up to five board members" after the word "Group" so that this motion reads as follows:

 

That the Board of Health:

 

1.         strike a Menu Labelling Working Group of up to five board members for the purpose of considering options for a proposed menu labelling regulation, to report back to the Board no later than the September 30, 2013 meeting.


3 - Motion to Amend Item (Additional) moved by Councillor John Filion (Carried)

That:

 

1.         the report by the Medical Officer of Health on the voluntary pilot project for restaurants below the 10 outlet/$10 million gross revenue threshold consider recognition for restaurants which voluntarily list calorie and sodium content on menus.

 

2.         that should the Province not indicate a willingness to act on the recommendations from the Medical Officer of Health, that a draft by-law be prepared for consideration by the Board of Health and that prior to bringing it forward, that staff consult with the industry regarding details of implementation.

Vote (Amend Item (Additional)) Apr-29-2013

Result: Carried Majority Required - Part 2 of Motion 3 by Councillor Filion
Total members that voted Yes: 9 Members that voted Yes are Raymond Cho, Sarah Doucette, John Filion, Pamela Gough, David Laws, Joe Mihevc (Chair), Gord Perks, Jennifer Sarjeant, Kristyn Wong-Tam
Total members that voted No: 3 Members that voted No are Kristle Calisto-Tavares, Suman Roy, Rumina Velshi
Total members that were Absent: 1 Members that were absent are Abdul Fattah

4 - Motion to Adopt Item as Amended moved by Councillor Sarah Doucette (Carried)

Vote (Adopt Item as Amended) Apr-29-2013

Result: Carried Majority Required
Total members that voted Yes: 10 Members that voted Yes are Raymond Cho, Sarah Doucette, John Filion, Pamela Gough, David Laws, Joe Mihevc (Chair), Gord Perks, Jennifer Sarjeant, Rumina Velshi, Kristyn Wong-Tam
Total members that voted No: 2 Members that voted No are Kristle Calisto-Tavares, Suman Roy
Total members that were Absent: 1 Members that were absent are Abdul Fattah
Source: Toronto City Clerk at www.toronto.ca/council