(CNSNews.com) - The Maryland state senate begins hearings Wednesday on the “Maryland Healthy Vending Act.”
The bill requires 75% of the items in vending machines on property owned or managed by the state to meet healthy standards.
Under the measure, “any packaged food and beverage option offered in a food or beverage machine shall contain no more than:
- .5 grams of trans fat per serving
- 200 milligrams of sodium per package.”
The legislation not only mandates the carrying of healthy snack choices, but also mandates the stocking of the vending machine in a manner where healthy options are “in a position with the highest selling potential.”
Under the bill, a vending company that fails to comply when stocking a machine at a state office building, state university, state park or any rest stop managed by the state would face a fine. Five violations or more in a six-month span would result in a vendor being barred from operating a machine on state property.
The measure says the change in vending machines will help reduce Type 2 diabities and “will support a more productive and valuable workforce that will pay dividends to the State economy and cultivate national competitiveness for State residents and employees.”
Video from WMAR.