New Yorkers visiting chain restaurants and coffee shops around the city could see new warning labels on menus and displays next month.
A new rule set to take effect in October requires food service establishments with 15 or more locations nationally to warn customers of any menu items that contain at least 50 grams of added sugar.
The city’s health department is acting in compliance with the Sweet Truth Act, which Mayor Eric Adams signed into law last year. Adams is a self-professed “plant-based eater” who switched to the diet after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. The rule requires chains to pay hundreds of dollars in fines if they don’t add the new warning labels to their menus. The health department held a hearing to discuss the new ruling earlier this summer.
“We want to give people an opportunity to understand how much sugar they are consuming everyday,” said the bill’s sponsor, City Councilmember Keith Powers of Manhattan.
Under the new rule, a warning statement – along with an icon of a spoon – will be posted on the menu or menu board of any location at chain establishments.
The new legislation echoes actions taken by past administrations. Under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city’s health department banned trans fats at all restaurants within the city limits and banned smoking inside bars, restaurants and most workplaces. And under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, the city began slapping warnings onto high sodium menu items.
“We’ve seen single items in chain food businesses be in excess of the daily recommended amount so we think that New Yorkers should have an opportunity to at least at the minimum know what they are consuming each time they walk into one of these stores,” Powers said.