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CNN Live At Daybreak
Labels on Restaurant Menus
Aired November 04, 2003 - 05:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You've been to the grocery store, picked up a box, a can, checked out those nutrition labels -- fat, sugar, carb content, you know. Well, now a member of Congress wants that same type of label on restaurant menus.
Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us about that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The nutrition labels, standard reading for many shopping for groceries. The information is required by the government, including how much fat, sugar, sodium and calories are in each serving. Now those same weighty facts may soon be appearing on restaurant menus. That's if one U.S. congresswoman has her way.
Representative Rosa DeLauro says laws must be passed to fight the obesity epidemic and also the $117 billion health care tab that comes with it.
REP. ROSA DELAURO (D), CONNECTICUT: If you provide them with the information, you allow them to be responsible in order to make the choice. I think that this legislation helps to do that.
GUPTA: Studies show people do read supermarket food labels to create a healthy diet. But the FDA up until now has not focused as much on restaurants.
DR. MARK MCCLELLAN, FDA COMMISSIONER: And I think there are some steps that we can take working with the restaurant industry, working with consumer groups and others, to help steer consumers to better diet choices, including at restaurants.
GUPTA: Not surprisingly, the restaurant industry is against mandatory labels, saying there could be a liability issue because the information may not always be accurate.
LEE CULPEPPER, NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: A lot of times the discretion that a kitchen has is going to affect how many of the side item is on the plate, how much of a side item is on the plate, how much of a main portion, did it have a little more sauce, did it have a little less sauce.
GUPTA: Still, six states have menu labeling legislation moving forward. And a hearing in the District of Columbia next week may make the nation's capital the first to put labeling on the menu. Of course, the real test will be waiting to see what consumers actually do with that information.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 4, 2003 - 05:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You've been to the grocery store, picked up a box, a can, checked out those nutrition labels -- fat, sugar, carb content, you know. Well, now a member of Congress wants that same type of label on restaurant menus.
Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us about that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The nutrition labels, standard reading for many shopping for groceries. The information is required by the government, including how much fat, sugar, sodium and calories are in each serving. Now those same weighty facts may soon be appearing on restaurant menus. That's if one U.S. congresswoman has her way.
Representative Rosa DeLauro says laws must be passed to fight the obesity epidemic and also the $117 billion health care tab that comes with it.
REP. ROSA DELAURO (D), CONNECTICUT: If you provide them with the information, you allow them to be responsible in order to make the choice. I think that this legislation helps to do that.
GUPTA: Studies show people do read supermarket food labels to create a healthy diet. But the FDA up until now has not focused as much on restaurants.
DR. MARK MCCLELLAN, FDA COMMISSIONER: And I think there are some steps that we can take working with the restaurant industry, working with consumer groups and others, to help steer consumers to better diet choices, including at restaurants.
GUPTA: Not surprisingly, the restaurant industry is against mandatory labels, saying there could be a liability issue because the information may not always be accurate.
LEE CULPEPPER, NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: A lot of times the discretion that a kitchen has is going to affect how many of the side item is on the plate, how much of a side item is on the plate, how much of a main portion, did it have a little more sauce, did it have a little less sauce.
GUPTA: Still, six states have menu labeling legislation moving forward. And a hearing in the District of Columbia next week may make the nation's capital the first to put labeling on the menu. Of course, the real test will be waiting to see what consumers actually do with that information.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
