Friday, May 9, 2008

NY City Food Citations

Over something as silly as not listing the calories next to the price.
*by NY Times Online

City health inspectors began issuing violation notices on Monday to restaurants that did not have calorie counts posted beside the prices on their menu boards.

By day's end, five restaurants had been cited, the health department said. They were Dunkin' Donuts at 445 Park Avenue South, at East 30th Street; McDonald's at 1560 Broadway, at West 46th Street; Popeye's, at 321 West 125th Street, between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and St. Nicholas Avenue; Sbarro at 22 West 34th Street, next to the Empire State Building; and TGI Friday's at 677 Lexington Avenue, at East 56th Street.

But the citations were little more than warnings. They carried no fines, because a federal judge had said the city could not impose fines until mid-July.

And failing to post calorie counts will not affect whether a restaurant passes or fails its regular food safety inspection, even after the fines begin. The calorie-count violation is separate from the things inspectors always look for: whether food is cooked or stored at the right temperature, whether the ice maker is clean, whether workers are wearing hats or hair nets, for example.

Still, the form that inspectors issued to the restaurants that did not have calorie counts posted sounded serious. It said the health department "expects that the conditions will be addressed promptly." The form cautioned that "any recurrence of these conditions could result in further action being taken."

Adding calorie counts to the list of items that inspectors look for was the latest twist in the health department's push to put the counts in more than 2,000 restaurants, or about 10 percent of all restaurants in the city. The postings are required only in restaurants with more than 15 outlets nationwide, and the rules were supposed to take effect last month. But they were delayed while the New York State Restaurant Association took the city to court.

Judge Richard J. Holwell of United States District Court in Manhattan ruled against the restaurant association, and when the association took the case to a federal appeals court, Judge Holwell refused to delay the rules beyond Monday, though he told the city not to begin levying fines until mid-July. The fines will range from $200 to $2,000.

Some of the restaurant chains that would be covered by the regulations did not wait for the case to work its way through the appeals process — they posted the calorie counts anyway. Among them are Starbucks, Subway, Quiznos, Chipotle and Jamba Juice.

The health department said that Monday was the first day inspectors had cited restaurants that did not have calorie counts posted on menu boards. But Chuck Hunt, a spokesman for the restaurant association, said he had heard of a restaurant that had been called on the carpet last week, even though it had posted the calorie counts. He would not name the restaurant.

"Two different inspectors came on two different occasions and had two different approaches to how they weren't doing it right," he said. "There's undoubtedly going to be inconsistency in how they intend to enforce this."

He said that one inspector said the calorie counts were "not in bold-enough type."

"This is the kind of stuff that's just going to drive people crazy," Mr. Hunt said.

Jessica Scaperotti, a spokeswoman for the health department, said the city wanted to "work with the food establishments to answer their questions and make sure that everyone is compliant" before any fines were levied.

On Monday, one restaurant inspector, Corey Williams, issued calorie-count violation notices to three restaurants: the Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's and Sbarro.

"This is pass-fail," he said as he pulled out a pocket-size digital camera and photographed the menu board at the Dunkin' Donuts. "It does not contribute to points."

The manager, Paul Rivera, said the calorie counts were coming.

Some were already there, though not in a form that was acceptable to Mr. Williams. A small sign on the counter said "80 calories or less in a small." It also said, "Order sugar substitute & skim milk for lots of flavor, and no fat." Another sign advertising a 99-cent special on coffee with an egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwich said the coffee had 25 calories and the sandwich, 280. The sign urged customers to add hash browns for another 99 cents. Doing so would add 180 calories, according to the sign.

But Mr. Rivera said that by June, "all the signs will change for calories."

Mr. Williams printed out the violation notice, using his laptop computer and a printer he carries in his backpack. He printed out a separate notice that cited the restaurant for violations totaling 11 points. Seven were for having boxes of food stacked on the floor in the walk-in freezer.

Mr. Williams pulled out his camera again at the McDonald's, which had no calorie counts on the menu boards. There, he issued violations totaling 57 points, and printed a form about the calorie counts.

At the Sbarro, he issued violations totaling 23 points along with the calorie-count notice.


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