2024 -- S 2627 | |
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LC005395 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- HEALTHY KIDS ACT | |
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Introduced By: Senators Lauria, Murray, Gu, McKenney, Britto, and Felag | |
Date Introduced: March 01, 2024 | |
Referred To: Senate Health & Human Services | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Legislative findings. The general assembly hereby finds and declares all of |
2 | the following: |
3 | (1) Thirty-five percent (35%) of Rhode Island children are overweight or obese. |
4 | (2) 2022 childhood obesity rates were on the rise from pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (thirty- |
5 | five percent (35%) in 2022 versus thirty-one percent (31%) in 2019). |
6 | (3) Forty percent (40%) of children in Rhode Island's core cities are overweight or obese |
7 | compared to thirty-five percent (35%) of children in the remainder of the state. |
8 | (4) Forty-one percent (41%) of Latinx and forty-one percent (41%) of Black children in |
9 | Rhode Island are overweight or obese compared to thirty-two (32%) of white children. |
10 | (5) Food environments are associated with food choices and diet quality. |
11 | (6) Childhood obesity is associated with costly chronic conditions like diabetes and heart |
12 | disease. |
13 | SECTION 2. Title 21 of the General Laws entitled "FOOD AND DRUGS" is hereby |
14 | amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
15 | CHAPTER 38 |
16 | HEALTHY KIDS ACT |
17 | 21-38-1. Short title. |
18 | This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Healthy Kids Act". |
19 | 21-38-2. Definitions. |
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1 | As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings |
2 | unless the context shall clearly indicate another or different meaning or intent: |
3 | (1) "Children's meal" means a combination of food and a beverage, offered for sale together |
4 | at a single price, primarily intended for consumption by children. |
5 | (2) "Default beverage" means any beverage offered as part of a children's meal. |
6 | (3) "Restaurant" means any food service establishment that serves food to customers for |
7 | consumption on or off the premises, as defined in § 21-27-1, including, but not limited to, drive- |
8 | through or walk-up counters, coffee shops, cafes, pizza parlors, and dine-in establishments. |
9 | "Restaurant" does not include school cafeterias. |
10 | 21-38-3. Nutrition standards in children's meals. |
11 | (a) A restaurant shall not sell any children's meal unless the restaurant offers at least two |
12 | (2) children's meals, or twenty-five percent (25%) of the children's meals on the children's menu, |
13 | whichever is greater, that contain no more than: |
14 | (1) Five hundred fifty (550) calories; |
15 | (2) Seven hundred (700) milligrams of sodium; |
16 | (3) Fifteen (15) grams of added sugars; |
17 | (4) Ten percent (10%) of calories from saturated fat; and |
18 | (5) Zero grams of trans fat. |
19 | (b) A restaurant shall not sell any children's meal unless the restaurant offers at least two |
20 | (2) children's meals, or twenty-five percent (25%) of the children's meals on the children's menu, |
21 | whichever is greater, that include servings in the specified amounts from at least two (2) of the |
22 | following five (5) food groups, and at least one of the two (2) food groups shall be a fruit or non- |
23 | fried vegetable: |
24 | (1) Fruit: one half (0.5) cup or more; |
25 | (2) Vegetable: one half (0.5) cup or more; |
26 | (3) Nonfat or low-fat dairy: one half (0.5) cup or more; |
27 | (4) Meat or meat alternative equaling at least: |
28 | (i) One ounce meat, poultry, or seafood; |
29 | (ii) One egg; |
30 | (iii) One fourth (0.25) cup pulses (beans, peas, lentils) or soy products; |
31 | (iv) Two (2) tablespoons nut butter; or |
32 | (v) One ounce nuts and seeds; or |
33 | (5) Whole grains: providing at least eight (8) grams of whole grains and meeting at least |
34 | one of the following criteria: |
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1 | (i) Contains fifty percent (50%) whole grain ingredients; or |
2 | (ii) Lists whole grains as the first ingredient. |
3 | 21-38-4. Default beverages in children's meals. |
4 | (a) A restaurant shall not sell a children's meal with a beverage unless the default beverage |
5 | is one of the following: |
6 | (1) Water with no added natural or artificial sweeteners; |
7 | (2) Unflavored nonfat or low-fat milk with no added natural or artificial sweeteners; or |
8 | (3) Non-dairy milk alternative that is nutritionally similar to cow's milk with no added |
9 | natural or artificial sweeteners. |
10 | (b) When taking food and beverage orders for a children's meal, restaurant employees shall |
11 | offer one of the default beverages in subsection (a) of this section. |
12 | (c) Nothing in this section prohibits a restaurant from selling, or a customer from |
13 | purchasing, a beverage other than the default beverage included with a children's meal, if the |
14 | customer requests a substitute or alternative beverage. |
15 | 21-38-5. Menus and menu boards. |
16 | The children's meals and default beverages that meet the nutrition standards listed in §§ |
17 | 21-38- 3 and 21-38-4 shall be listed or displayed on a restaurant's menu and menu boards, including, |
18 | without limitation, online menus and menus used by delivery-based entities. |
19 | 21-38-6. Enforcement. |
20 | (a) The department of health shall implement, administer, and enforce this section, and is |
21 | hereby authorized to issue rules and regulations consistent with this chapter and shall have all |
22 | necessary powers to carry out the purpose of this chapter. |
23 | (b) Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this chapter, or any amendments, the |
24 | department of health shall send a copy of the law or any such amendment, and other written |
25 | informational resources created in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, to all restaurants |
26 | subject to the chapter. |
27 | (c) The department of health shall create written informational resources and signage in |
28 | English and Spanish summarizing the requirements of this chapter to help support restaurants and |
29 | employees in its implementation. |
30 | 21-38-7. Restaurants. |
31 | (a) All restaurants shall provide the written informational resources created in accordance |
32 | with § 21-38-6(c) to all employees upon commencement of employment. |
33 | (b) Within thirty (30) days of receiving a copy of this chapter and other written |
34 | informational resources, and on a regular basis for all new employees, while this chapter is in effect, |
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1 | all restaurants shall train employees on how to comply with the provisions of this chapter. |
2 | (c) All restaurants shall maintain records documenting the nutritional content of children's |
3 | meal food and beverages and make such records available to the department of health on request. |
4 | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2025. |
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LC005395 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- HEALTHY KIDS ACT | |
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1 | This act would mandate that all restaurants offering children's meals offer at least two (2) |
2 | children's meals that complies with certain detailed nutritional standards set forth in the act. The |
3 | act would further require that a nutritious meal contain no more than five hundred fifty (550) |
4 | calories, seven hundred (700) milligrams of sodium, fifteen (15) grams added of sugars, ten percent |
5 | (10%) of calories from saturated fat and zero grams of trans fat. The act would also require that the |
6 | nutritious meal include at least two (2) of the five (5) food groups: fruit, vegetable, low-fat dairy, |
7 | protein and whole grain. |
8 | This act would take effect on January 1, 2025. |
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