These items are what city councilor Carmelo Lazatin, Jr. wants listed per dish on the menus of all restaurants “to promote a healthier and more balanced lifestyle and diet among residents of this city.”
Lazatin has filed an ordinance “requiring all restaurants operating within the city to disclose and include the nutritional information of food on their menus.”
“Restaurants and fastfood chains will be required to secure, as an additional requirement for operation, a Nutrition Disclosure Compliance Certifi cate (NDCC) from the City Health Offi ce (CHO), within six months after the ordinance takes eff ect,” the proposed ordinance said.
The proposal specifi ed that “nutritional information, as provided for in the ordinance, should include total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fi ber, and total protein.”
“Having the nutritional information of various food items clearly visible on the menu allows consumers to be more discerning with the food that they eat. Consumers will have an easier time to distinguish between healthy food items and those that are not,” Lazatin explained.
Establishments which fail to comply with the ordinance or are found to have declared false nutritional information are to be fi ned P5,000 to P10,000 per violation.
Lazatin has also fi led a proposed ordinance banning the sale of junk foods and carbonated drinks within school premises in this city.
The ordinance aims to protect and promote the health of school children by limiting their exposure to potentially harmful food and drinks by banning the sale of junk foods and carbonated drinks including drinks with artifi cial or synthetic sweetener, he said.
“Health is the topmost priority for the children. Since the school is considered as the second home of our children, I believe we should be vigilant and make sure they only eat nutritional foods,” he added.
