Before you order your favorite dish, you can now ask to know how many calories, carbs and fat grams you're about to sink your teeth into.
A new law that went into effect Wednesday requires all chain restaurants in California to provide consumers with brochures containing nutritional information.
So when you step into a chain restaurant in the Golden State, such as McDonald's, Taco Bell, Carl's Junior, or Subway to name a few, you should be able to get one.
The nutritional information brochure tells the calories, grams of saturated fat, grams of carbs, and milligrams of sodium that are in standard menu itmes.
Mary Hillenbrand likes the new law. "I want to know the calorie count, the sodium count, and the fiber count," she said. "And if I know, I probably won't be eating it!'"
Senator Alex Padilla authored SB 1420, which makes California the first in the nation to tackle obsesity with menu labeling.
According to the California Department of Health Services, nearly 16 million Californians are obese or overweight.
Many suffer from diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertention.
The department said obesity costs the state at least $8.4 billion annually in medical care, worker's compensation, and lost productivity.
The new law is an effort to combat that.
Starting in 2011, chain restaurants in California will also be required to post calorie counts.
The California Restaurant Association supports the bill. Members hope consumers will use this as another tool to get healthy. "We hope this information will be used to benefit people," spokeswoman Lara Dunbar said.
"I think it's a wonderful idea, but when you're buying fast food, you really don't care," said Bakersfield resident Faye Sayre.
