NYC restaurants to list calories on menus

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The New York City Board of Health has unanimously approved a measure requiring chain restaurants to disclose calorie counts on menus and menu boards.

The board voted Tuesday to require restaurants with more then 15 locations nationwide to list calories after a previous measure was struck down by a federal judge who ruled it ran counter to federal law, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said Tuesday.

The new regulation, which restaurants must comply with by March 31, was altered to address the judge's ruling.

"It's going to get a lot easier to make informed choices at New York City's chain restaurants this spring," said Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the CSPI. "At fast-food burger chains like McDonald's and Burger King, and at table-service chains like Olive Garden and Applebee's, consumers will have one key piece of nutrition information, calories, to help them make the right choices for themselves and their families."

Similar measures are being considered by authorities in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Maryland's Montgomery County, New York's Nassau and Westchester Counties, and Oregon's Multnomah County.