On March 9, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made a statement regarding menu labeling enforcement. Dr. Susan Mayne, Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is cited as saying:
“As a result of language in the omnibus appropriations bill enacted December 18, 2015 (Public Law 114-113 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016), FDA is delaying enforcement from December 1, 2016, to the date that is one year after it issues final, Level 1 guidance on menu labeling. The draft Level 1 guidance was issued on Sept. 11, 2015, and FDA is considering all comments received and will issue the final guidance as soon as possible.”
“FDA appreciates the extensive input received from stakeholders throughout the process of establishing requirements for menu labeling and in developing guidance. We will work flexibly and cooperatively with establishments covered by the menu labeling final rule to facilitate compliance and will provide educational and technical assistance for covered establishments and for our state, local, and tribal regulatory partners.”
It remains unclear when the FDA will finalize the guidance, but the labeling rule does have support by large organizations that would prefer to see a national requirement than state and local rules that would be difficult to implement across state lines.
Editor’s Note: Will this apply to the vending regulations? VendingMarketWatch.com contacted the FDA, and was told they did not yet have a response. It appears they still need to consider the matter of delaying the vending machine calorie disclosure enforcement. Update: The FDA confirms that this extension on enforcement ONLY applies to menu labeling rules for restaurants as of 3/16/16.
