WASHINGTON, D.C – Buckling to pressure brought by NACS and other allies, FDA announced late Friday that it would be issuing a new rule to move the menu-labeling compliance date to the enforcement date of May 5, 2017. Once this new rule is published, convenience stores nationwide will no longer be in jeopardy of private lawsuits, and c-stores in California will no longer be at risk of state or local enforcement of the state’s own statute, prior to May 5, 2017. While this is welcome news it certainly does not solve the underlying problems with the rule itself.

The FDA has essentially reversed itself from its menu-labeling “clarification” announced earlier this week. On November 29, the FDA announced that—even though it would not be enforcing the menu-labeling rule until May 5, 2017—retailers were still expected to be complying by December 1. This conflicted with the information FDA had been communicating to the industry for months prior: that the May 5, 2017, date was the one that mattered. 

NACS continues to work with its industry and congressional allies to affect the passage of the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act. The legislation will provide all retailers with the compliance flexibility needed to make the FDA menu-labeling rule work across all industries affected by this regulation.