NJ lawmakers move to rein in junk food on kids menu

☑️ A state Senate committee advances a bill requiring healthier kids menu options

☑️ Meals would face strict limits on calories, sodium, sugar and unhealthy fats

☑️ Chain restaurants are mainly affected by the bill

A bill that would set minimum requirements for healthy items on kids menu at chain restaurants has passed its first hurdle to becoming law.

The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committee unanimously approved the bill, which would require at least two items, or 25% of the menu, to meet certain requirements for calories, sodium, added sugars and saturated fats.

State Sen. Joe Vitale, D-Middlesex, said the purpose of the bill is to give parents some healthy and affordable options.

"I have young kids and we eat out, not that often, but often enough that we search for a kids menu. Usually, it's in a larger restaurant or chain restaurant and sometimes the offerings aren't great. And if we want to have a healthy lunch for our kids and the menu isn't appealing to a parent because of its content, then they have to go to the regular menu, which is always more expensive for an adult meal that would have healthier components," Vitale said.

A chain restaurant in the bill is defined as one having 20 or more locations doing business under the same name, regardless of the type of ownership of the locations.

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What the bill requires for kids meals at chain restaurants

Qualifying kids meals would be limited to:

• No more than 550 calories per serving
• 700 milligrams of sodium
• 15 grams of added sugar
• No more than 10% of calories from saturated fat
• Zero grams of trans fat

Meals must also include a half-cup of fruits or vegetables, plus whole grains, lean protein or low-fat dairy.

Vitale said that many of the chain restaurants already meet the requirements. He said there are some extra costs involved and admittedly left non-chain restaurants so as not to be just one more financial burden.

If the bill were to become law there would be an online training component to spell out the requirements. A first offense for non-compliance would be a warning. The second offense is a civil penalty of up to $500 and up to $1,000 for subsequent violations, not to exceed $5,000 in a 30-day period.

The bill must also get the approval from an Assembly committee before going up for a vote in both chambers.

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