Requires children's meals and beverages served in certain settings to meet nutritional standards.*

S2977 1R

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 2977

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE

District 19 (Middlesex)

Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Turner, Diegnan, Burgess and Greenstein

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires children�s meals and beverages served in
certain settings to meet nutritional standards.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and
Senior Citizens Committee on February 9, 2026, with amendments.

��

An Act

concerning nutritional standards for children�s
meals
1
and
beverages
1

served in
1
[
chain
restaurants
]

certain settings
1
and
supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statues.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that:

���� a.���� Over the past 30 years,
the obesity rate in the United States has more than doubled.� According to the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2009, nearly two-thirds,
or 68.5 percent of American adults were overweight or obese.� Approximately
one-third of children nationwide are overweight or obese.� Obese children are
at least twice as likely as non-obese children to become overweight or obese as
adults.

���� b.��� In 2017, 61.9 percent of
adults and 14.9 percent of children, ages zero to 17, in the State of New
Jersey were overweight or obese.

���� c.���� Obesity-related health
conditions have serious economic costs.� The medical burden of obesity in the
United States is about $147 billion annually, or almost 10 percent of all
medical spending.� Roughly one-half of these costs are paid through Medicaid and
Medicare and, as a result, are incurred by taxpayers throughout the country.�
In 2018, New Jersey�s annual obesity related medical expenditures were
estimated at $9.3 million.

���� d.��� American children
consume 19 percent of their daily calories at fast food and other restaurants.�
Studies link eating in restaurants with higher caloric intakes and obesity.

���� e.���� Therefore, it is in the
public interest to establish nutritional standards for children�s meals sold at
chain restaurants
1
and
beverages served at restaurants
1

in order to reduce the number of overweight and obese children, and to promote
healthy eating and active living among the citizens of the State.

���� 2.� As used in this act:

���� �Chain restaurant� means a
restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is part of a chain with 20
or more locations doing business under the same name, regardless of the type of
ownership of the locations, and substantially offers the same menu items for
sale.

���� �Children�s meal� means a
combination of food items or food items and a beverage, sold together at a
single price, primarily intended for consumption by children.

���� �Restaurant� means any
facility or part thereof in which food is prepared and provided or served for
consumption on the premises.�

���� 3.��� a. An owner, operator,
or the proprietor of a chain restaurant shall not sell, offer to sell, or serve
a children�s meal unless two or more children�s meals, or 25 percent or more of
the children�s meals on the children�s menu, whichever is greater, adhere to the
following nutritional standards:

���� (1)�� the meal shall contain
no more than:

���� (a)�� 550 calories per
serving;

���� (b)�� 700 milligrams of
sodium;

���� (c)�� 15 grams of added sugar;

���� (d)�� 10 percent of calories
from saturated fat; and

���� (e)�� 0 grams of trans fat;

���� (2)�� the meal shall contain
at least 0.5 cups of fresh fruits or vegetables, and at least one of the
following:

���� (a)�� a whole grain product
which lists whole grains as its first ingredient, equals 50 percent whole
grains by weight of product, or contains 50 percent whole grains by weight of
grains;

���� (b)�� a lean protein
consisting of at least two ounces of meat, one ounce of nuts, seeds, dry beans
or peas, or one egg; or

���� (c)�� at least 0.5 cups of
non-fat or one percent milk, low fat yogurt, or one ounce of reduced fat
cheese.

���� For purposes of this
subsection: �juices, condiments, jellies, jams, or spreads shall not be
considered a fruit or vegetable; and a lean protein shall contain less than 10
grams of fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 94 milligrams
of cholesterol per 100 grams and per labeled serving; and

���� (3) �
1
[
if the
children�s meal is served with a beverage, that beverage shall be:

���� (a) water, sparkling water, or
flavored water with no added natural or artificial sweetener;

���� (b) nonfat milk, one percent
milk, or a non-dairy milk alternative, nutritionally similar to cow�s milk, containing
no added natural or artificial sweeteners or flavorings; or

���� (c) 100 percent fruit or
vegetable juice or fruit or vegetable juice combined with water or carbonated
water, with no added natural or artificial sweetener, in a serving size of no
more than 6.75 ounces; and

���� (4)
]
1
substitutions of any
of the items contained in a children�s meal pursuant to this subsection shall
be permissible upon request by a customer.

���� b.��� (1) A chain restaurant
using a standard printed menu shall list next to a children�s meal on the menu,
the nutritional content of the meal as required pursuant to subsection a. of
this section, using a font and format that is at least as prominent, in size
and appearance, as that used to post either the name or price of the children�s
meal.

���� (2)�� A chain restaurant using
a menu board system or similar signage shall list next to the children�s meal
on the board or sign, the nutritional content of the meal as required pursuant
to subsection a. of this section.

���� (3)�� If the children�s meal
includes a beverage, the chain restaurant using a standard printed menu shall
also list next to the children�s meal on the menu, the caloric information for
the beverage, using a font and format that is at least as prominent, in size
and appearance, as that used to post either the name or price of the children�s
meal.

���� c.���� A chain restaurant that
posts the nutritional content of a children�s meal on its company website or
mobile application shall be exempt from the requirements of subsection b. of
this section.

����
1
4.�
a. An owner, operator, or proprietor of a chain restaurant or restaurant shall
not sell a children�s meal with a beverage unless the default beverage is one
of the following:

����
(1)�� water, sparkling
water, or flavored water with no added natural or artificial sweetener;

����
(2)�� flavored or
unflavored nonfat or low-fat, such as one percent, dairy milk or non-dairy
beverage that is nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk, such as soy milk, in a
serving size of eight ounces or less; or

����
(3)�� 100 percent fruit or
vegetable juice or fruit or vegetable juice combined with water or carbonated
water, with no added natural or artificial sweetener, in a serving size of no
more than 6.75 ounces; and

����
b.��� Substitutions of any
of the items contained in a children�s meal pursuant to this section shall be
permissible upon request by a customer.
1

����
1
[
4.
]

5.
1
� a. The
Department of Health or the local board of health or the board, body, or
officers exercising the functions of the local board of health according to law
shall have the right to enter the premises of a chain restaurant
1
or
restaurant
1

at which a children�s meal is sold, offered for sale, or served, at any time
during normal business hours and upon presentation of appropriate credentials,
in order to determine compliance with the provisions of this act, or any rule
or regulation adopted pursuant thereto.

���� b.��� The Department of Health
or the local board of health or the board, body, or officers exercising the
functions of the local board of health according to law, upon written complaint
or having reason to suspect that a violation of this act has occurred, shall,
by written notification, advise the owner, operator, or proprietor of the chain
restaurant
1
or
restaurant
1

accordingly and order appropriate action to be taken.

����
1
[
5.
]

6.
1
� a. An
owner, operator, or the proprietor of a chain restaurant
1
or
restaurant
1

who knowingly sells, offers to sell, or serves a children�s meal
1
or
beverage
1

in violation of the provisions of
1
[
section
]

sections
1
3
1
or 4
1
of this
act shall be issued a warning for the first offense, liable to a civil penalty
of up to $500 for the second offense, and up to $1,000 for a subsequent
offense, provided that in no case shall the penalty against the owner or
operator of the chain restaurant
1
or
restaurant
1

exceed $5,000 during a 30-day period.

���� b.��� Any civil penalty
imposed pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be collected in a civil
action by a summary proceeding under the �Penalty Enforcement Law,� P.L.1999,
c.274 (C.2A:58-1 et seq.), or in any case before a court of competent
jurisdiction wherein injunctive relief has been requested. �The Superior Court
and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce and collect any
penalty imposed for a violation of the provisions of this act.� Process shall
be in the nature of a summons or warrant and shall issue only at the suit of
the Commissioner of Health or the local board of health as plaintiff.

����
1
[
6.
]

7.
1
� a.
Within three months of the enactment of
1
[
P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
]

this act
1
, the
Department of Health, in consultation with the New Jersey Restaurant and
Hospitality Association, shall prepare and make available for distribution to
chain restaurants
1
and
restaurants
1
,
both in print and in an easily printable format on the department�s Internet
website, a fact sheet to notify and inform chain restaurant
1
and
restaurant
1

owners affected by the provisions of
1
[
P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
]

this act
1
of the
requirements of the law.

���� b.��� The department, in
consultation with the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association, shall
provide an informational poster, containing the information found in the fact
sheet prepared in accordance with subsection a. of this section, to chain
restaurants
1
and
restaurants
1

for use and display at every location in their restaurants where customers may
place food or drink orders.

����
1
[
7.
]

8.
1
� The
Department of Health shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the
provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.

����
1
[
8.
]

9.
1
� This
act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following the
date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Health may take any
anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the
implementation of this act.