Item - 2013.HL27.5
Tracking Status
- This item was considered by Board of Health on December 9, 2013 and was adopted without amendment.
HL27.5 - Proposed Menu Labelling Legislation for Ontario
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Adopted
- Wards:
- All
Board Decision
The Board of Health:
1. Commended the provincial government for making a commitment to introduce menu labelling legislation this winter that would require chain restaurants to post calories and other nutrition information on the menu/menu board, and for engaging key stakeholders in consultations, including public health, on the design, implementation, and enforcement of this legislation.
2. Endorsed the Medical Officer of Health's recommendations in relation to the design, implementation, enforcement, and evaluation of the proposed provincial menu labelling legislation contained in his submission to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Attachment 1 of the report (November 20, 2013) from the Medical Officer of Health.
3 Forwarded the report (November 20, 2013) from the Medical Officer of Health to the Ontario Public Health Association, the Association of Local Public Health Agencies, the Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health, the Ontario Medical Association and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.
Origin
Summary
On October 9th, 2013, the Provincial Minister of Health and Long-Term Care announced that the provincial government will be introducing menu labelling legislation this winter that would require chain restaurants to post calories and other nutrition information on the menu/menu board of large chain restaurants. The provincial government is designing the legislation in consultation with diverse sectors, including public health, and engaging local public health agencies in discussions of implementation as they will be expected to enforce the legislation.
Toronto Public Health (TPH) was represented at the consultations through provincial organizations such as the Ontario Public Health Association among others. The Medical Officer of Health (MOH) has also provided the Minister directly with a submission clearly outlining the Board of Health's position that legislation should mandate the posting of sodium values alongside calories on the menu/menu board and the Board's recommendations on how this information should be provided by chain restaurants with ten or more locations nationwide.
To maximize the impact of this legislation, the MOH has also recommended province-wide public education on how to use menu labelling. As Ontario is the first jurisdiction in Canada to require menu labelling, the MOH also recommends the provincial government support evaluation of the implementation and impact of this legislation.
The MOH recommends that the Board of Health commend the Government of Ontario and the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for taking provincial leadership on this issue, and endorse the additional recommendations to the provincial government found in Attachment 1.
In light of the provincial government's commitment to legislate menu labelling, TPH is delaying further work to develop a municipal menu labelling bylaw for Toronto and will continue to seek out opportunities for engagement with the provincial government on implementation and enforcement and other issues that have implications for local public health agencies.
Background Information
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-64208.pdf
(November 5, 2013) Attachment 1 - Letter to Minister of Health and Long-Term Care from the Medical Officer of Health on Healthy Kids Consultation - Provincial Menu Labelling Legislation, November 1, 2013
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-64209.pdf