SAN FRANCISCO — Starting today, Dec. 1, San Francisco restaurants will stop offering free toys with kid’s meals in accordance with a new city law.
“Our efforts are geared towards addressing the childhood obesity epidemic,” Eric Mar, San Francisco City and County Supervisor, is quoted as saying by CNN.
According to CNN, the new law prevents restaurants from giving away toys in kid’s meals unless the meals have less than 600 calories and contain a 1/2 cup of fruit and a 3/4 cup of vegetables. The meal must also have less than 35 per cent of the total calories from fat, less than 640 milligrams of sodium and less than 0.5 milligrams of trans fat.
A McDonald’s Happy Meal does not meet the requirements. “While we will fully comply with this law, we also have a responsibility to give our customers what they want,” reads a McDonald’s statement, as printed by CNN. Parents will now have to pay 10 cents for a toy at San Fran McDonald’s outlets.
Earlier this year, the QSR announced plans to create a healthier Happy Meal with fruit and yogurt. The new product should rollout nationwide in March.
The new law will affect many restaurant chains in the area, including Burger King, Carl’s Jr. and Subway.
