BAGUIO CITY – The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance requiring restaurants or similar food businesses operating in the city to include in their menu the calorie count per serving of the food they are offering for improved health and nutrition outcomes, providing penalties for non-compliance and for other purposes.
Under the proposed ordinance, it shall be the policy of the city government to protect and promote the health and nutrition of its citizens and to provide consumers with nutrition information so that they can make informed and healthier food choices.
Further, the city shall endeavor to establish a healthy food environment by requiring food businesses to display calorie count in their menus and make other nutrition information available.
The food establishments shall disclose calorie content, nutrients of concern and reference daily calorie requirements in their respective menus.
However, the mandatory declaration of nutrition information shall not apply to food establishments that do not offer standard menu items; daily specials, temporary menu items, custom orders, and other menu offered that are not standardized and other food items that are not for sale as standalone food items for consumption and extra food items used as flavorings, such as condiments and spices.
The local government shall set the grace period for compliance with the regulations that shall not exceed one year from the approval and issuance of the implementing guidelines of the proposed measure.
The ordinance shall provide incentive schemes for restaurants or food business that voluntarily provide and disclose nutrition information and similar manner as specified under the measure such as promotion and public recognition through various channels such as websites, social media and local publications; opportunity to avail of the benefits provided for and such other incentives as the lead agency may determine.
Failure of the covered establishments to comply with the prescribed rules shall be considered an offense and subject to the penalties.
The owner, president, general manager and other persons-in-charge or accountable officers of the food businesses who commit any of the offenses shall be penalized with a notice of violation and a fine of ₱1,000 for the first offense, a second notice of violation, a fine of ₱2,000 and a training on proper compliance for the second offense, a third notice of violation, a fine of ₱2,000 and the issuance of a cease and desist order for the third offense and a fine of ₱5,000 and revocation of business permit for the fourth and succeeding offenses.
The ordinance tasked the City Health Services Office as the lead agency in the implementation of the pertinent provisions of the measure once approved.
The lead agency shall be responsible for issuing the guidelines and policies necessary for the implementation of the ordinance, provided that other provisions of the measure not requiring additional implementing guidelines shall take effect immediately.
The ordinance stipulated that funding requirements shall be sourced and drawn as appropriate and available from the lead agency’s annual budget. By Dexter A. See
