Sector Snap: Restaurant Shares Dip On Menu Bill

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of restaurant companies mainly fell Thursday after several chains and an industry group announced their support for legislation requiring major chains to disclose calories on menus.

The legislation — part of a larger health reform bill released in draft form Wednesday by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee — would force chains with 20 or more locations to print the calorie counts of its food items on menus or menu boards. Chains would also be required to give customers additional nutritional information, including fat, sodium and cholesterol content.

Chains would not have to include calorie information on menus for condiments, daily specials or other items on the menu for less than 60 days per year.

The bill was a compromise between a stricter version favored by health industry groups and a bill backed by the restaurant industry that would not have required calorie counts to be directly on menus or menu boards.

A number of states and cities have already enacted similar laws or regulations requiring calorie counts to be more prominently displayed for customers. New York City, Philadelphia, Massachusetts and California already require some form of menu labeling at large chains. Bills have also been introduced in Oregon, Maine and Connecticut.