For Immediate Release
Contact: Kathy Grannis or Ellen Davis (202) 783-7971
Email: grannisk@nrf.com or davise@nrf.com

NCCR President Issues Statement in Light of New York
Judge's Ruling Against Menu Labeling Regulation

Washington , September 11, 2007 – A U.S. District Court judge ruled today that a regulation passed last year by the New York City Board of Health, which would have forced restaurants to display caloric information on menu boards, exceeded the City's authority. The City's regulation applied only to chain restaurants that were already providing caloric information to customers in other ways.

In light of the ruling, Jack Whipple, President of the National Council of Chain Restaurants, the leading trade association exclusively representing chain restaurant companies and a division of the National Retail Federation, released the following statement:

NCCR is pleased with the judge's ruling, as we have always believed that the New York City Board of Health's regulation flies in the face of common sense. We applaud the judge for recognizing that chain restaurants that have been providing this information voluntarily for years should not be required to highlight only some nutritional information that the City deems most important.

Chain restaurants are pleased that they will not be forced to feature caloric information more prominently than information about sodium, saturated fat, cholesterol, protein and carbohydrates, which many customers find as, or more, important. Chain restaurants do not want to send a message to their customers that one piece of nutritional information is better or more important than another, which is why they make a broad array of nutritional information available to the public.  

Chain restaurants will continue to voluntarily provide nutritional information—through brochures, posters, tray liners and on the Internet—to help customers make educated decisions about what they choose to eat.

The National Council of Chain Restaurants is the leading trade association exclusively representing chain restaurant companies. For more than 40 years, NCCR has worked to advance sound public policy that best serves the interests of both chain restaurants and the millions of people they employ. NCCR members include some of the country's largest and well respected quick-serve and casual dining companies. The National Council of Chain Restaurants is a division of the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade group. www.nccr.net

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