WASHINGTON -- NACS called the
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act (H.R. 1249), bipartisan legislation
introduced Thursday by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Loretta Sanchez
(D-CA), and almost a dozen additional members, a thoughtful approach to
providing the necessary flexibility and understanding of foodservice operations
at convenience stores.
"I hope that we can move quickly on this and get this done,"
said Rep. Sanchez during a Capitol Hill press conference.
The
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed into law in March 2010,
includes a provision that calls for a national, uniform nutrition-disclosure
standard for foodservice establishments. Regulations implementing this
provision, released in 2011, would create rigid requirements that pose an
unreasonable burden on many businesses, particularly convenience stores.
The
proposed regulations would require chain restaurants, "similar retail food
establishments," and vending machines with 20 or more locations to provide
specific nutritional information, including calorie-counts on menus, menu
boards and drive-thru boards. Self-service items such as buffets and salad bars
must contain caloric information "adjacent" to the item. Retailers would have to provide
additional nutrition information in writing upon request.
NACS
and other trade groups support the introduced legislation that would direct the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement a restaurant menu-labeling
provision in the way in which Congress originally intended: to provide a
uniform standard for chain restaurants with 20 or more locations in order to
preempt the various state and local menu labeling laws.
"Under FDA's proposal, if more than 50% of a store's floor
space is devoted to selling food ? including prepackaged food ? that store must
comply with the same menu labeling obligations as restaurants," said NACS
President and CEO Henry Armour during the press conference.
"This is flawed for two reasons. First, revenue ? not floor
space ? is how the government should measure a business's primary activity.
Floor space is an ambiguous standard that is prone to manipulation and
ambiguity, the opposite characteristics of sound regulations. Second,
prepackaged food ? which already contains nutritional information ? should not
be a part of this equation. Instead, we should be looking only at food that is
prepared on-site and intended for immediate consumption. This only makes sense,
because these are the products that the menu labeling regulations target," said
Armour.
"The bill introduced today would codify a less burdensome
approach to menu labeling by limiting the provision to food retailers that
derive 50% or more of their total revenue from the sale of food. Prepackaged
food would not be considered in this equation," said Armour.
In addition to Armour and Rep. Sanchez, several other Members
of Congress also spoke in support of the legislation during the press
conference, including Rep. McMorris Rodgers, Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), Rep. Tim
Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), as well as representatives from
several trade groups.
"This legislation introduced today will allow FDA to satisfy
Congress's objectives without unnecessarily burdening most convenience stores,"
said NACS Chairman Dave Carpenter, president and CEO of J.D. Carpenter
Companies, Inc. "It provides much-needed flexibility and recognizes that a
one-size-fits-all approach does not work in a channel like ours with such
diverse food offerings ? let alone other retail channels," he added.
"This legislation ensures
independent retail grocers are not subjected to millions of dollars in new and
unnecessary expenses and administrative burdens because of regulatory
overreach. Grocery stores are not chain restaurants, which is why
Congress did not include them in the law," said National Grocers Association
(NGA) Vice President of Public Affairs Greg Ferrara in a statement released
after the event. "NGA and its members look forward to working with
Congress to pass this important legislation so that our members can remain
focused on growing their businesses and creating jobs."
"We commend Reps. McMorris
Rodgers and Sanchez for introducing legislation that will preserve Consumer
choice and prevent increased costs at the register," added Food Marketing
Institute Regulatory Counsel Erik Lieberman in a statement.