FDA Holds Off on Menu Labeling Until 2017

The agency will delay enforcement of the calorie count rules yet again.

March 30, 2016

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has pushed off enforcement of its menu-labeling regulations until 2017, according to US News & World Report and the Associated Press. As part of the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, the rules mandate that restaurants and retailers selling prepared foods in 20 or more U.S. locations must place calorie counts next to menu items or on menu boards.

Enforcement of the rules has been hamstrung by grocery stores, convenience stores and other non-traditional restaurant establishments that have protested the regulations. In 2014, the agency released the final menu-labeling rules, touting them as a balanced approach to retailer concerns. At first, the FDA gave restaurants until the end of 2015 to comply, then that deadline was moved to the end of this year. Now it has been pushed back again to 2017.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Common Sense Menu Disclosure Act. The passage represents “another giant step forward in ensuring consumer choice and making it possible for convenience stores and others to comply,” said Henry Armour, NACS president and CEO. NACS advocacy efforts on menu-labeling will now shift to the Senate to encourage passage of S. 2217, companion legislation to H.R. 2017 that was introduced by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Angus King (I-ME).

More information on this issue can be found at nacsonline.com/menulabeling.

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