While bans on polystyrene-foam packaging are not uncommon across the West Coast— including Seattle, Portland, Ore., and more than two dozen cities in California—they are rare elsewhere. This time the debate is in Highland Park, Ill., which is considering a ban on restaurants using polystyrene-foam cups, bowls and plates. The proposal is getting a thumbs-up…

The second phase of California’s ban on artificial trans fats in most foodservice facilities and retail bakeries takes effect Jan. 1. California is the only state that bans restaurants and bakeries from using fats, oils or margarines that contain trans fat. Under the first phase, which took effect Jan. 1, 2010, restaurants and bakeries had…

Officials in New Jersey, Oregon and Massachusetts say they will not implement state menu-labeling rules set to take effect Jan. 1 and will follow the uniform guidelines set forth under the national healthcare reform act passed earlier this year. The federal standard was created to replace the patchwork of state and local guidelines regulating what…

The Food Safety & Modernization Act awaits a possible cloture vote in the U.S. Senate, but improving food safety remains at the forefront for government agencies. This includes the federal Food and Drug Administration, which is recommending that all restaurants and retailers employ certified food protection managers. The FDA’s recommendation was timed with the late…

A new public-private partnership supported by First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to fight childhood obesity might be a boon to the makers of salad bars. “Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools” aims to install at least 6,000 salad bars in U.S. school cafeterias through a combination of grants and national and local fund-raising.…

Operators in the Big Apple say they need a little lobbying help to represent their interests and address complaints about the business environment. The New York City restaurateurs are complaining that it has never been more difficult to open a new restaurant, in large part due to community boards and neighborhood activists. According to the…

Chains are seeking to be “green” and are looking for ways to cut costs not quality; equipment manufacturers are aiming for energy efficiency. Both can get some help from a newly released technical report by the U.S. Department of Energy and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

We’ve got two items of interest to report from the National Restaurant Association, including an alert to its members about proposed changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Justice Department has proposed revisions that would affect the restaurant industry and places of public accommodation. The Association will host a members-only webinar on applying the…

The member breakfast at the March 30-April 2, 2011 Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association meeting in Phoenix is a crucial one for talking insider—or more specifically, interior design—politics. Across the country, FEDA members have been fighting legislation that threatens their rights to practice interior design, including the ability to prepare and submit drawings. As detailed previously…

From our always busy file on California regulations comes the widely discussed news that San Francisco has officially banned toys from meals that contain more than predetermined, so-called “healthy” levels of calories, sugar and fat. The veto-proof vote by the city’s Board of Supervisors echoes a similar ban enacted earlier this year in Santa Clara…