MANILA, Philippines—You are what you eat, the saying goes, thus a congressman wants diners to know what they are putting into their bodies when they eat out.

 

Davao del Norte Rep. Anthony del Rosario has filed a bill that would require restaurants and fast-food outlets to disclose the nutritional content of the food they serve in the hope that this would steer the public toward making healthy food choices.

 

The bill would make it mandatory for restaurants to reveal the calories, fat content and amounts of cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, sugar, dietary fiber and protein in the food they serve.

 

In his explanatory note to the measure, Del Rosario said that with the proliferation of restaurants and fast-food chains, more Filipinos now tend to eat out and consume high-calorie and unhealthy food.

 

“This is because most people are generally unaware or ill-informed about the calorie and nutritional content of the food they eat and this leads to a pattern of unhealthy eating that eventually causes obesity and a myriad of health problems,” he said.

 

Del Rosario’s bill proposes that a fine of from P20,000 to P100,000 be imposed on those establishments that fail to follow the law or that provide false data on their menus. Leila B. Salaverria