Fast-food sellers must list calories 'clearly and conspicuously' on menus within a year, FDA says
Image from Shutterstock.
Setting new rules Tuesday despite opposition from food sellers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said menus and billboards from which customers order must “clearly and conspicuously” list calorie counts by next November.
The purpose of the new rules, which were imposed under a little-known provision of the Affordable Care Act, is to give customers an idea of how many calories they will be eating before they order prepared food, according to the Associated Press and Good Morning America.
The rules will apply to businesses with 20 or more locations and food items that are sold for immediate individual consumption.
While the applicability of the rules may be fairly straightforward as far as bakeries, convenience stores, coffee shops, pizzerias and vending machines are concerned, determining exactly what must be labeled at supermarkets that increasingly cater to in-store and take-out dining may be confusing, the article notes. Calories would need to be listed for cut fruit at a salad bar, for example, but not whole fruit sold in the produce section of a grocery store.
Meals served on planes, trains and food trucks are exempt.
A FDA press release provides more information and links to copies of some of the new rules in the Federal Register.
“This is one of the most important public health nutrition policies ever to be passed nationally,” Margo Wootan tells the New York Times (reg. req.). She serves as director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
“Right now, you are totally guessing at what you are getting,” Wootan said. “This rule will change that.”
In addition to encouraging customers to think twice before ordering a calorie-laden meal or treat, those in favor of the new rules hope they will encourage food sellers to cut high-calorie ingredients.
NPR and the Washington Post (reg. req.) also have stories.
