SEATTLE (AP) — Finally, King County chain restaurants are required to have nutritional information posted on their menus, a controversial rule that was passed by the county’s Board of Health in 2007 after a battle with the Washington Restaurant Association.
The nutrition rule that went into effect on New Year’s Day is aimed at consumer awareness, said James Apa, communications manager for Public Health — Seattle & King County.
The restaurant association initially fought the new nutrition-labeling regulation, calling it “simply not workable.” But the board and the association came up with a compromise so that the rule affects only larger chains.
A reporter for The Seattle Times went on a tour of some Seattle restaurants last week and saw patrons paying little notice to the new rule.
“I didn’t see the sign,” said Bruce Flemins, of Seattle, enjoying a plateful of Ivar’s fish and chips.
“I didn’t notice,” said Kevin Sakuda, of Seattle, after stepping up to a Baja Fresh counter in Fremont. He ordered a burrito as he stood alongside a new 2-foot-high nutrition sign.
Other patrons said they noticed the calorie information, but it apparently didn’t faze them.
“We eat what we want,” said Damon Mayfield, of Colorado Springs, Colo., as he sat with a group of friends lunching at Ivar’s. He said the fact that an order of fish ‘n’ chips contained 606 calories had “not the slightest effect” on his choice.
Jonathan Andersen, a Los Angeles resident visiting his father who lives in Puyallup, made a lunchtime trip to Ivar’s. He saw that the bread bowl he craved could be problematic, caloriewise, but ordered it anyway. He vowed not to eat every last morsel.
“It’s impossible to eat the whole thing anyway,” said.
At a Cold Stone Creamery store in Fremont, employee Leah McKee stood beneath the newly installed signs with nutritional information and tried to put things into perspective.
“Everybody has their New Year’s resolutions,” she said.
King County restaurants with 15 or more locations nationwide are now required to post nutrition data, including calorie, saturated fat, carbohydrate and sodium information. The rule does not apply to grocers, convenience stories or self-service counters, i.e., salad bars. Restaurants that fail to post the information could be cited by health inspectors.
