Effective July 1, 2009, all restaurant chains with 20 or more locations in California are required to have brochures available to customers that contain either (1) the amount of calories per serving in their standard menu items, or (2) the nutritional information for their standard menu items, including the number of calories per serving, the number of grams of saturated fat, grams of carbohydrates, and milligrams of sodium in their standard menu items. The brochures must be available at the point of sale, including drive-thrus.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger feels this legislation (SB 1420) will help customers make more informed and healthier food selections when eating out. According to the California Department of Public Health, obesity is a leading cause of preventable death among Californians — this in turn costs the state of California billions of dollars every year, as a result of health care costs, workers compensation, and lost productivity.

It will be interesting to see how Californians react to these changes. Would it change what you choose to eat when eating out? Leave a comment below!