Sugar Warnings Could Be Added To NYC Chain Restaurant Menus

NEW YORK CITY — Menus across New York City soon could get a not-so-sweet addition: a sugar warning.

The "Sweet Truth Act" — a new City Council bill expected to be introduced Wednesday — calls to warn customers of chain restaurants if food and drink items exceed the daily recommended amount of added sugar, which is 50 grams.

Council Member Keith Powers, the bill's lead sponsor, said such warning labels would help New Yorkers make informed decisions about their food.

"New Yorkers love eating out, but let’s be honest—we don’t always know how much sugar we’re consuming," he tweeted.

The bill is the latest salvo in a long-running fight for many New York City public officials against sugar.

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his City Council allies famously — or infamously — drew ire from many sweet-toothed Americans when they banned sugary drinks more than 16 ounces. But the so-called soda ban was shot down by judges for good in 2014, just two years after it bubbled up.

The new sugar warning bill doesn't call to ban sweet menu items.

Instead, it would require chain restaurants — defined as eateries with 15 or more locations in the five boroughs — to add a sugar warning icon to menu items that exceed 100 percent of the FDA's daily recommended amount of added sugar.

"Such rule shall also provide a factual warning statement about high added sugars intake," the bill states.