S. 1048: Howard M. Metzenbaum Menu Education and Labeling Act

111th Congress · introduced 2009-05-14 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-05-14 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Howard M. Metzenbaum Menu Education and Labeling Act

Plain summary

Howard M. Metzenbaum Menu Education and Labeling Act or the Howard M. Metzenbaum MEAL Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations doing business under the same trade name to disclose: (1) in a statement adjacent to a standard menu item, the number of calories, grams of saturated plus trans fat, grams of carbohydrate, and milligrams of sodium in each such item; (2) other information designed to enable the public to understand the significance of the nutrition information provided in the context of a total daily diet; (3) that such nutrition information is available in writing at the point of ordering; and (4) the number of calories in food on a drive-through menu board, adjacent to each menu item. Exempts condiments, items placed on a table or counter for general use, daily specials, and temporary menu items. Requires restaurants that sell self-serve food and beverages, such as through a salad bar, buffet line, or cafeteria lines, to place a sign that lists the number of calories per serving adjacent to each food item or beverage offered. Requires vending machine operators who operate 20 or more vending machines to provide a conspicuous sign disclosing the number of calories contained in each article of food dispensed from such machines. Permits restaurants and vending machine operators to voluntarily provide, and states to require, additional nutritional information.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Howard M. Metzenbaum Menu Education and Labeling Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA] · 6 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernard Sanders (I-VT)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s1048.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s1048 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111