Nutrition Regulation Map

Combined Map | Trans Fat Ban Map | Menu Labeling Initiative Map

Select your state or locality below to view the key highlights of foodservice nutrition regulatory initiatives.

Vermont

In 2009 the Vermont House introduced a bill to require foodservice establishments with 10 or more locations nationwide to list nutrition information. The Vermont Senate introduced a similar bill in January 2010. Both bills will require all menus to include calories, grams of saturated fat, grams of carbohydrates, grams of protein, and milligrams of sodium for each standard menu item. At the bottom of each menu page, the following statement must appear, �Recommended limits for a 2,000 calorie diet are 20g of saturated fat and 2,300 milligrams of sodium. Saturated fat numbers include trans fat.� If establishments only use a menu board, they may limit the nutrition information displayed to calories, but they must have additional information available upon request and they must display the following statement, �A 2,000-calorie diet is used as the basis for general nutrition advise; however, individual calorie needs may vary.� The Senate Health Care Committee and the House Human Services Committee are reviewing the bills.

Menu labeling requirements have now been agreed upon as a result of legislation passed in 2008 requiring the Vermont Department of Health, the Vermont Hospitability Council, the Vermont American Heart Association, and representatives of the foodservice industry to develop a labeling system, Calories must be disclosed on menus and menu boards, in addition to a statement about the recommended daily caloric intake. It is expected the menu labeling requirements will go into effect January 1, 2011.

The Vermont Department of Health with the Vermont Hospitality Council, the American Heart Association, and representatives from the foodservice industry are working to develop a labeling system that will educate public consumers of nutrition information, including when trans fat is present. The group is also responsible for developing a way for Vermont to be trans fat-free by 2011. The formal report was given to the Health and Welfare Committee in the Senate and the Health Care and Health Services Committee in the House in January 2009.

In 2005 and 2007 proposals were introduced that would require chain restaurants to post nutrition information for all foods served. The following nutrition information would have been included: calories, grams of saturated fat, grams of carbohydrates, and milligrams of sodium. Both bills died at the end of the legislative sessions.