US FDA finalises regulation mandating calorie info on restaurant menus
|
November 27 , 2014
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
TOPICS
|
That foods might provide therapeutic benefits is clearly not a new concept. ...
|
|
|
|