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CNN Live At Daybreak

Nutritional Content of Kid-Friendly Menus

Aired February 24, 2004 - 06:50   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: All right, all of your parents, listen up. Later today we will be getting some important news that just may affect your choice of restaurants. It has to do with the nutritional content of kid friendly menus. And you may be in for a surprise.
We're joined live from New York by our favorite dietitian, Lisa Drayer.

Good morning, Lisa.

What's up?

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Good morning, Carol.

That's right, well, later this morning, the Center for Science in the Public Interest will be releasing their analysis at kids' restaurants, that is, kids' menus at some of America's most popular chain restaurants. That's at 10:00 a.m. this morning. So we'll be hearing about some of the worst and better food options at restaurants like Appleby's, Chili's, Outback, Red Lobster and others.

I'm very excited to see this.

COSTELLO: I bet you are, as a dietitian.

DRAYER: Right.

COSTELLO: Will this eventually require them to list the calorie content on the kid friendly menu? Is that what we're talking about?

DRAYER: Exactly. In fact, many say that this analysis will be great support for a bill being introduced today. It just so happens that this bill is introduced today in the Senate. It's a bill introduced by Senator Tom Harkin, which is known as the Meal Education and Labeling Act.

Basically, it would require restaurants to list nutritional information, you know, so we wouldn't have to rely on CSPI's nutritional analysis and, you know, take them with us to these restaurants. It would include the number of calories for meals, the grams of saturated fat, the amount of trans fats and the amount of sodium in these restaurant meals.

So this bill is very similar, actually, to the bill that was introduced in the House last November.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

DRAYER: So we'll be hearing more about this.

COSTELLO: So what are the restaurants saying?

DRAYER: Well, you know, the restaurant -- I can tell you, I have a statement from the National Restaurant Association. They do not support a government mandate on this type of restaurant menu labeling. Basically they're saying, "The restaurant industry is a very diverse industry of choice in which consumers order from menus, customize their choices and even ask for special orders which aren't on the menu. We think one size fits all legislation to mandate menu labeling is simplistic, doesn't make allowances for customized orders and turns the federal government into the food police."

COSTELLO: The food police? Interesting. Well, we'll see what happens on Capitol Hill. Of course, we'll be following that for our viewers.

What's on tap for you tomorrow for us, Lisa?

DRAYER: Well, tomorrow, Carol, we will reveal these actual findings from CSPI, that is, what they found on these kids' menus. We'll also talk about the Kaiser Foundation. They are actually releasing a report today on the role of media in childhood obesity.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

Lisa Drayer live from New York.

Many thanks to you.

DRAYER: Thanks.

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 February 24, 2004 - 06:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, all of your parents, listen up. Later today we will be getting some important news that just may affect your choice of restaurants. It has to do with the nutritional content of kid friendly menus. And you may be in for a surprise.
We're joined live from New York by our favorite dietitian, Lisa Drayer.

Good morning, Lisa.

What's up?

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Good morning, Carol.

That's right, well, later this morning, the Center for Science in the Public Interest will be releasing their analysis at kids' restaurants, that is, kids' menus at some of America's most popular chain restaurants. That's at 10:00 a.m. this morning. So we'll be hearing about some of the worst and better food options at restaurants like Appleby's, Chili's, Outback, Red Lobster and others.

I'm very excited to see this.

COSTELLO: I bet you are, as a dietitian.

DRAYER: Right.

COSTELLO: Will this eventually require them to list the calorie content on the kid friendly menu? Is that what we're talking about?

DRAYER: Exactly. In fact, many say that this analysis will be great support for a bill being introduced today. It just so happens that this bill is introduced today in the Senate. It's a bill introduced by Senator Tom Harkin, which is known as the Meal Education and Labeling Act.

Basically, it would require restaurants to list nutritional information, you know, so we wouldn't have to rely on CSPI's nutritional analysis and, you know, take them with us to these restaurants. It would include the number of calories for meals, the grams of saturated fat, the amount of trans fats and the amount of sodium in these restaurant meals.

So this bill is very similar, actually, to the bill that was introduced in the House last November.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

DRAYER: So we'll be hearing more about this.

COSTELLO: So what are the restaurants saying?

DRAYER: Well, you know, the restaurant -- I can tell you, I have a statement from the National Restaurant Association. They do not support a government mandate on this type of restaurant menu labeling. Basically they're saying, "The restaurant industry is a very diverse industry of choice in which consumers order from menus, customize their choices and even ask for special orders which aren't on the menu. We think one size fits all legislation to mandate menu labeling is simplistic, doesn't make allowances for customized orders and turns the federal government into the food police."

COSTELLO: The food police? Interesting. Well, we'll see what happens on Capitol Hill. Of course, we'll be following that for our viewers.

What's on tap for you tomorrow for us, Lisa?

DRAYER: Well, tomorrow, Carol, we will reveal these actual findings from CSPI, that is, what they found on these kids' menus. We'll also talk about the Kaiser Foundation. They are actually releasing a report today on the role of media in childhood obesity.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

Lisa Drayer live from New York.

Many thanks to you.

DRAYER: Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com