The menu labeling rule proposed on Friday applies to chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments. Specifically, consumers would see calories listed in restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain with 20 or [image-nocss] more locations doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items. Examples of these establishments include fast-food establishments, bakeries, coffee shops and certain grocery and c-stores.
(Click here for a CSP magazine report on how some restaurateurs have been affected by menu-labeling laws.)Movie theaters, airplanes, bowling alleys and other establishments whose primary purpose is not to sell food would not be subject to this proposed regulation.
The calorie counts will apply to an estimated 280,000 establishments and could be on menus by 2012, reported the Associated Press. Required as part of health overhaul legislation signed into law last year, they are designed to give restaurant diners information that has long been available on packaged goods cooked at home. The FDA estimates that a third of calories are consumed by eating out.
Additionally, the proposal invites the public to comment on whether additional types of food establishments should or should not be covered by the new rule. A companion rule proposes calorie posting for food sold in vending machines.
The Affordable Care Act requires the disclosure of calorie and other nutrition information in certain food establishments and for certain foods sold in vending machines. Additionally, on menus and menu boards, statements would be posted concerning suggested daily calorie intake and indicating that additional nutrition information is available on request. Under the proposal, this information would be displayed clearly and prominently on menus and menu boards, including menu boards in drive-through locations; and for individual foods on display.
Consistent with the law, the agency is proposing that the following statement on daily caloric intake be on menus and menu boards to help consumers understand the significance of the calorie information in the context of a total daily diet: "A 2,000-calorie diet is used as the basis for general nutrition advice; however, individual calorie needs may vary."
Under the proposed rules, operators who own or operate 20 or more vending machines would post calorie information for food sold in a vending machine, unless certain nutrition information is already visible on individual packages of food inside the machine.
State and local governments could not impose any different nutrition labeling requirements for food sold in restaurants, similar retail food establishments and vending machines covered by the federal requirements. Restaurants, similar retail food establishments and vending machine operators that are not covered by the federal requirements could voluntarily register to be covered under the federal nutrition labeling regulations."The National Restaurant Association strongly supported and advocated for the law that will provide consumers with uniform and consistent nutrition information in hundreds of thousands of restaurant locations nationwide," said Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the association, in a statement. "From Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine, the new standard will help chain restaurants provide the same type of nutrition information to consumers in any part of the country."
She added, "The publication of the proposed regulations in the Federal Register [Friday] is the next step forward in providing the industry with consistent, national requirements on how to implement the new uniform nutrition information standard. [The group] anticipates there will be many questions, and after full review of the proposal, will provide detailed comments to the FDA to ensure that restaurants are provided adequate time and are able to comply with the regulations effectively, as well as provide information to consumers in the most usable way."
To implement this law, the FDA must provide detailed rules for restaurants on how to present calories on menus, menu boards and drive-thru boards, as well as how to present and provide additional nutrition information to consumers, the group concluded.The FDA is seeking public comment on the proposed rule for menu labeling for 60 days (until June 6, 2011). Comments on the proposed rule on vending machines may be submitted for 90 days (until July 5, 2011).
The FDA invites input on the proposed regulations by visiting www.regulations.gov.
1. Choose "Submit a Comment" from the top task bar.
2. Enter the follow docket numbers in the "Keyword" space: docket number FDA-2011-F-0172 for menu items in restaurants and similar retail food establishments, and docket number FDA-2011-F-0171 for vending machines.
3. Select "Search"
To submit comments to the docket by mail, use the following address:
The Division of Dockets Management
HFA-305
Food & Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
Be sure to include the appropriate docket number.
Click herefor more details.Andclick here for "Food Labeling: Nutrition Labeling of Standard Menu Items in Restaurants & Similar Retail Food Establishments Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" (Docket No. FDA-2011-F-0172), Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis by the Office of Regulations Policy & Social Sciences Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition (March 2011).
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