H-4140              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1997

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representatives Addison, Vekich and Wineberry

Read first time 1/24/86 and referred to Committee on Agriculture.

AN ACT Relating to the disclosure by restaurants of the kind of fats used in the preparation of fried food; adding a new section to chapter 43.20 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that more than seven hundred thousand of our citizens die each year from heart attack and stroke, a greater number of deaths than is caused by any other illness; that research has identified saturated fats as a major cause contributing to heart disease and stroke; that public health officials and medical authorities have urged the general public to moderate their intake of saturated fats; that recent studies have shown that many restaurants, particularly fast food restaurants, use highly saturated fats, such as beef tallow, in the preparation of fried foods; that restaurants do not disclose in their menus or otherwise routinely disclose the kind of fat used in their fried foods; and that requiring such disclosure would enable consumers, particularly consumers with histories or family histories of heart disease or stroke, to make more intelligent decisions with respect to the foods they consume, decisions more consistent with their long-term health. Therefore, the legislature declares that the public health requires all restaurants serving fried foods to  disclose to consumers the kinds of fat used in the preparation of their foods.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.20 RCW to read as follows:

          The board of health shall adopt rules requiring restaurants that sell fried foods to disclose in a conspicuous manner to prospective consumers of these foods the kind of fat or fats used to fry the foods.  These rules shall also prescribe the manner in which the disclosure is to be made and shall require the closing of any restaurant that fails to comply with the rules.  This closing shall last until such time as the restaurant complies with the rules.

          For purposes of this section, the word "restaurant" shall be broadly construed to mean any commercial food service establishment that prepares fried foods and sells the same, whether on or off the premises, for human consumption.