Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday said she has signed an ordinance requiring restaurants, fast food chains and other food establishments to publish the number of calories of food items on their menu, except those who own carinderias or small eateries.
“This initiative is a first in the country,” Belmonte said in a press conference. Under the measure, calorie labeling will be required soon to help QCitizens make informed food choices.
“We want to ensure that the QCitizens are safe from non-communicable diseases. If there is calorie labeling, our QCitizens have the power to choose healthier food with the correct information they have,” Belmonte said.
Carinderia and small eatery owners, however, should not worry about the policy as they are not covered by the ordinance. “But we will give them an incentive if they voluntarily put a calorie count on their menu,” the mayor said.
Based on data from the Quezon City Health Department, almost one in five adult residents have high blood pressure. In 2018 alone, 19.9 percent of school-aged children and 43.0 percent of adults were found to be overweight and obese.
To address this issue, Belmonte said the city government is committed to building a food environment that would improve the overall health of its residents as part of its work with the Partnership for Healthy Cities—a prestigious global network of 73 cities committed to save lives by preventing noncommunicable diseases and injuries through the delivery of high-impact policy or programmatic interventions in their communities.
“We commend the Quezon City government for this groundbreaking initiative. This is the first of its kind in the country and as a pioneer in calorie-labeling, we hope that QC inspires more cities and municipalities to do the same,” said Atty. Sophia San Luis, executive director of public interest law group ImagineLaw.
In its first year of implementation, the ordinance shall cover QC restaurants or food businesses that are part of a food chain or franchise with five or more branches in the country.
In the second year, it will cover the same businesses with two or more branches, while in the third year, it shall cover all restaurants or food businesses.
Barangay micro businesses and micro, small and medium enterprises, such as ambulant vendors, hawkers and carinderia owners, are exempted from the ordinance.