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US FDA finalises regulation mandating calorie info on restaurant menus
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Thursday, 27 November, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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fiogf49gjkf0d The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) finalised rules stating that calorie information be listed on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants, similar retail food establishments and vending machines with 20 or more locations to provide consumers with more nutritional information about the foods they eat outside of the home. They were mandatory under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
“Americans eat and drink about one-third of their calories away from home, and people today expect clear information about the products they consume,” said Margaret A Hamburg, commissioner, US FDA. “Making calorie information available on chain restaurant menus and vending machines is an important step for public health that would help consumers make informed choices for themselves and their families,” she added.
The menu labelling final rule applies to restaurants and similar retail food establishments if they are part of a chain of 20 or more locations, doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items. Covered food establishments would be required to clearly and conspicuously display calorie information for standard items on menus and menu boards, next to the name or price of the item.
Seasonal menu items offered for sale as temporary menu items, daily specials and condiments for general use typically available on a counter or table are exempt from the labelling requirements. Some states, localities and large restaurant chains are already doing their own forms of menu labelling. The 1990 Nutrition Labelling and Education Act, the law establishing nutrition labelling on most foods, did not cover nutrition labelling for restaurants and other ready-to-eat foods.
In the years that followed, states and cities created their own labelling requirements for such foods. These federal standards would help avoid situations in which a chain restaurant subject to the federal requirements has to meet different requirements in different states. The US FDA considered more than 1,100 comments from stakeholders and consumers in developing these rules.
In response to comments, the US FDA narrowed the scope of foods covered by the rule to more clearly focus on restaurant-type food, made other adjustments such as ensuring the flexibility for multi-serving dishes like pizza to be labelled by the slice rather than as a whole pie, and provided establishments additional time to comply with the rule.
In addition, the final menu labelling rule now includes certain alcoholic beverages served in covered food establishments and listed on the menu, but still provides flexibility in how establishments meet this provision. The majority of comments supported including alcohol because of the impact on public health. The menu labelling rule also includes food facilities in entertainment venue chains, such as movie theatres and amusement parks.
Restaurants and similar retail food establishments would have one year to comply with the menu labelling requirements. To help consumers understand the significance of the calorie information in the context of a total daily diet, under the rule, menus and menu boards would include the statement, “2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary.”
The final menu labelling final rule also required covered establishments to provide, upon consumer request and as noted on menus and menu boards, written nutrition information about total calories, total fat, calories from fat, saturated fat, trans-fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, fibre, sugars and protein.
The final vending machine final rule required operators who own or operate 20 or more vending machines to disclose calorie information for food sold from vending machines, subject to certain exceptions. Vending machine operators would have two years to comply with the requirements.
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