July 20, 2015 BY EMAIL
Mr. Taylor Wright
[email protected]
Dear Mr. Wright,
Thank you for your email regarding the Making Healthier Choices
Act (Bill 45). I appreciate the time you
have taken to write and share your concerns with me, and I am
pleased to take this opportunity to respond.
Our government is committed to the health of all Ontarians and
is creating a supportive environment that
would make it easier for Ontarians to choose healthy food
choices.
Bill 45 requires only calories to be posted on menus as this is
most closely aligned with Ontarios commitment to reduce overweight
and obesity in children since calorie consumption is the major
determinant of weight. There is research that indicates that
providing too much information on the menu can
be confusing to consumers and the proposed approach balances the
need for information without
overwhelming consumers.
Bill 45 includes regulation-making authority that allows our
government to require the posting of other
nutrients (including sodium or sugar) at a later date, if
desired. This is consistent with the approach taken in
other jurisdictions (e.g., U.S. Food and Drug Administration
federal menu labelling legislation only includes
calories to be posted on menus). The Ministry of Health will
continue to monitor trends, research and other
jurisdictions to continually assess the evidence base for
expanding the nutritional information to be posted on
menus.
The legislation applies to food service premises with 20 or more
locations in Ontario who are selling or
serving prepared standard food and beverage items. It would not
apply to small operators with a handful of
locations who may be financially challenged in meeting the
requirements of the legislation.
We recognize that this legislation may have an economic impact
on the restaurant and bar industry. Small
operators would be challenged to standardize their recipes, test
their menu items for nutritional content, and
change menus to reflect the addition of calorie information.
Over 60 per cent of larger chain restaurants
already provide nutritional information voluntarily to their
customers (upon demand, on websites, in store,
etc. but not on menus or menu boards).
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This legislation does apply to alcohol, as calories found in
alcohol are part of an individuals daily caloric intake and
alcoholic beverages can contain a significant amount of calories.
Food service premises with 20 or
more locations in Ontario that are captured by the menu
labelling legislation will be required to provide
calorie information for the alcoholic beverages that they offer
for sale on their menus.
You will be pleased to know that on May 28 Bill 45 received
Royal Assent. The effective date of January 1,
2017 will provide industry with approximately 12 months to
comply from the time the regulations are
finalized and publically communicated.
Once again, thank you for writing. Please do not hesitate to
contact me at my Community Office at any time
to share your thoughts and concerns. I look forward to hearing
from you.
Sincerely,
Yasir Naqvi, MPP
Ottawa Centre
