CHICAGO -- There’s a reason voters chose an outsider to take control of the government machinery. Foodservice operators' obligations under pending menu-labeling laws were “clarified” last week, and the communications were anything but illuminating.
On the federal level, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement on Nov. 29 that was intended to clear up confusion about when operators are expected to post nutritional information on menus and menu boards. That’d be Dec. 1, or two days later, the missive explained, as if it was asking hundreds of thousands of businesses to leave a light on for an extra minute, not undertake a moonshot.
The potential source of the confusion was an earlier indication from the FDA that operators wouldn’t be held accountable for the new standards until May 5. That’s still the case, the agency said in its Tuesday clarification. There will be no enforcement of the rules until that date. Indeed, authorities are prohibited by a separate law from spending a single penny on policing the labeling mandates until that time.
Uh, come again? The industry is required to comply, but won’t really be required for another five months?
Enforcement of menu-labeling rules won’t begin until May 5—unless the establishments are located in California, the greater restaurant industry’s largest market by far. State health officials issued their clarification a week ago, stating that the state’s menu-labeling requirements and enforcement will start Dec. 1.
However, the expectation is that regulators will use the first six months of enforcement to educate operators about exactly what’s required of them. That grace period extends past the federal start date of enforcement, raising the possibility that operations in California will need to please two masters, possibly each having different agendas.
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