Happy Meal Ban in Santa Clara:Toy Ban In High Calorie Kids Meal

by NowPublic Staff | April 28, 2010 at 11:53 am

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Santa Clara County Ordinance Bans Toys and Promotions From Some Children Restaurant Meals

The County of Santa Clara has passed an ordinance banning toys, gifts and promotions with high calorie kids meals offered by area restaurants which will impact the McDonald's Happy Meals.

Happy Meal: Nutritional and Calorie Chart

The ordinance sets nutritional standards that must be met before toys can be offered: 485 total calories and 600 milligrams of sodium; for example a McDonald's Happy Meal with 4 pieces of Chicken McNuggets, small french fries, and 1% milk has 520 calories and 690 mg of Sodium so in that case a toy cannot be offered with the Happy Meal.

This ordinance prevents restaurants from preying on children's' love of toys" to sell high-calorie, unhealthful food, said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who sponsored the measure. "This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes."

Santa Clara County is at the forefront of nutritional standards for restaurant food. The county initiated the drive to have calories included on menus in restaurants. And though childhood obesity has reached virtual epidemic proportions in the USA, critics say the city has business interfering in what should be a choice controlled by parents.

"The message they (supervisors) are sending is that parents are making the wrong choices and therefore they should no longer have the choice," said Restaurant Association spokesman Daniel Conway said his 22,000-member group was against the ordinance.