California county bans toys at fast food outlets

San Francisco - The California county of Santa Clara has become the first in the US to ban toys and other promotions designed to entice children to consume high-calorie meals at fast food outlets.

The Board of Supervisors voted to ban the long-standing giveaways with children's meals that exceed set levels of calories, fat, sugar and salt. Violations can be punished at up to 1,000 dollars per meal.

"This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes," the law's author, Supervisor Ken Yeager said at the vote Tuesday night. "Obviously, toys in and of themselves do not make children obese. But it is unfair to parents and children to use toys to capture the tastes of children when they are young and get them hooked on eating high-sugar, high-fat foods early in life."

Implementation of the ban will be delayed for 90 days to allow restaurants to comply with the new law, which applied to all children's meals that contain more than 485 calories, derive more than 35 percent of their calories from fat or 10 per cent from added sweeteners, or have more than 600 milligrams of sodium. The totals are based on children's health standards set by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The California Restaurant Association, whose members include chains such as McDonalds and Burger King, said the ban represented unwanted government intrusion into people's lives.

"Ultimately, parents decide what their children eat and whether a meal includes a toy or not - that is the role of a parent," said Jot Condie, president of the California Restaurant Association. "The county government does not need to serve as the parent of the parents."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321058,california-county-bans-toys-at-fast-food-outlets.html.