Default Beverage for Children's Meals Law in Effect January 1, 2022

Starting January 1, 2022, Illinois restaurants that offer a packaged "children's meal" will be required to offer at least one of the following beverages as the default beverage with the meal: water, sparkling water, or flavored water with no natural or artificial sweeteners, 100% fruit or vegetable juice with no added sweeteners, nonfat or 1% dairy milk, or a non-dairy milk alternative with no added or artificial sweeteners.

While the healthy beverages listed above must be what automatically comes with the meal, the law does not prohibit restaurants from providing another beverage if requested by the customer.

To ensure compliance, restaurants should update their menus, menu boards, and beverage lists as well as in-store advertising for children's meals so the necessary options are listed as the default beverage.

Local health departments will be checking for compliance with this law, and will issue a warning on the first offense, a civil penalty of $25 on the second offense, and a civil penalty of $100 on the third or subsequent offenses.

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