Judge Strikes Down NYC Fast Food Menu Law

Newsday reports that U.S. District Judge Richard J. Howell has struck down the New York City law that required fast-food restaurants to post calorie content on menus:   

In his ruling, the judge said the city rule conflicted with federal law because federal law already described how restaurants should post nutritional information if they choose to do so.

He said the city rule would not seem to conflict with federal law if it were mandatory for restaurants. He noted that the city chose to limit the regulation to restaurants that had already disclosed calorie information so the rule would not be burdensome on restaurants that had never analyzed their menus for nutritional data.

The judge called the city's reason for limiting the applicability of the rule laudable, but he said it did not change the fact that it caused the rule to conflict with federal law.

- SBS