Based on confusing language in the regulation and industry's significant difficulties in complying with the new menu labeling requirements, Congress is considering rewriting the law, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the compliance date.
On March 9, 2016, FDA further extended the compliance deadline until "one year after it issues final, Level 1 guidance on menu labeling." On December 1, 2014, FDA issued a 395-page final rule on food labeling entitled "Nutrition Labeling of Standard Menu Items in Restaurants and Similar Retail Food Establishments" (the "Menu Labeling Rule").1 Industry responded to the new rule by asking a number of questions, identifying specific practices and questioning whether they would be acceptable for complying with the rule.
In response, on March 13, 2015, FDA issued a ''Small Entity Compliance Guide.'' Since then, additional requests have been made, asking FDA to extend the compliance date of the final rule based on concerns that "covered establishments" do not have adequate time to fully implement the requirements of the rule. These requests were submitted by a large retailer, trade associations and others, and they provided information regarding steps involved in implementation of the labeling requirements.
More specifically, the requests describe steps involved in developing software, information systems and other technologies for providing nutrition information in ways that better correspond to how foods are offered for sale in covered establishments and allow for more efficient and product-specific nutrition labeling. In addition, the requests describe steps involved in training staff, implementing Standard Operating Procedures and developing and installing updated and consistent menu boards across all locations within a chain.
Read the full article in Food Safety Magazine here.
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