Calories don't (yet) count, judge rules

BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, April 24th 2008, 4:00 AM

A federal judge on Wednesday put the breaks on the city's rule to require fast-food joints to post calories on menu boards while the case is still pending in court.

The city received the green light earlier this month to go ahead with the controversial plan but the restaurant industry appealed and asked the court to ban the rule until a final decision was made.

Federal Appeals Judge Robert Katzmann on Wednesday issued a "temporary stay," leaving the policy in limbo until a three-person panel decides whether it should go into effect before the decision.

The panel will meet on Tuesday. The policy was supposed to start Friday, a fluid date after half a dozen delays.

Mayor Bloomberg predicted Wednesday that once the policy is implemented it won't hurt business, as many restaurant insiders fear. "People are afraid of change," he said.

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