California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday signed a legislation that requires nutritional information on menus in chain restaurants, making the state the first in the nation to do so.

"This legislation will help Californians make more informed, healthier choices by making calorie information easily accessible at thousands of restaurants throughout our state," Schwarzenegger said.

Under the bill, restaurant owning 20 or more chains are required to provide calorie counts for items on printed menus and menu boards by Jan. 1, 2011. And by July 1, calorie counts as well as fat, sodium and carbohydrate content should be provided in brochure form at the point of sale and drive-through windows.

The recommended limit of 20 grams of fat and 2,300 mg of sodium based on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet is also required to be stated in the brochures.

When the bill was signed into law, similar ordinances were proposed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles City Council.

But those proposals came under fire from the California Restaurant Association which pushed for a state standard instead of a patchwork of local ordinances.

Daniel Conway, spokesman of the association, said his organization worked with one of the co-authors of the bill, State Senator Alex Padilla, in crafting the bill and they approved of the resultant legislation.

"We wanted a statewide standard... and we got it with this bill," Conway said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2008)