WASHINGTON – House Republicans are proposing a one-year delay on new FDA menu-labeling rules that require restaurants, convenience stores, pizza chains and grocery stores to display the calorie counts of their food items.

The proposed delay was included in an agriculture spending bill released Wednesday, according to news reports. Without a delay, the requirements are scheduled to go in effect in December.

Earlier this month, E-Z Mart CEO Sonja Hubbard testified on behalf of NACS at a hearing on H.R. 2017, the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act. That bipartisan legislation would revise the FDA’s menu labeling regulations by providing covered restaurants and other retail food establishments with more flexibility in how they provide calorie information to consumers.

In her testimony, Hubbard urged the committee to pass H.R. 2017 as expeditiously as possible in light of the rapidly approaching December 1 compliance deadline under FDA’s rules.  “The convenience store industry strongly supports . . . efforts to provide consumers the nutrition information they want. The industry simply wants to be able to provide this information in ways that are practical for our businesses and useful for our customers,” stated Hubbard.

Hubbard, along with witnesses representing grocery stores and Domino’s Pizza, also made clear that while our industries would welcome a delay, like the one now proposed by House Republications, it would not solve the problem of compliance.