Multnomah County, Oregon, Adopts Menu Labeling Laws

Multnomah County commissioners have reportedly adopted regulations requiring restaurant chains with 15 or more locations nationwide to display calorie content alongside individual items on their menus. Effective March 12, 2009, the law also requires these establishments to provide information about sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, and carbohydrate content at the point of sale. Restaurants must institute these new policies before the end of the year, when the health department can begin issuing citations and civil fines for violations. “No one says this will solve the problem of obesity in Multnomah County, but it’s an important first step. This is about giving people information. That’s fundamentally different than saying you can’t eat this hamburger, it’s bad for you,” county commissioner Jeff Cogen was quoted as saying. See The Oregonian, February 12, 2009.