The New York City (NYC) Board of Health has reportedly amended Article 81 of the NYC Health Code to require food items containing more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium to be singled out on menus and menu boards with a salt-shaker icon and an accompanying warning statement. The initiative affects restaurant chains with more than 15 locations nationwide, and the mandated warning must state that the “sodium content of this item is higher than the total daily recommended limit (2,300 mg). “Many others recognize the important public health impact of excess sodium intake, and I am hopeful that others will follow suit,” Health Commissioner Mary Bassett, was quoted as saying. The warnings will take effect on December 1, 2015, and reportedly apply to about 10 percent of menu selections offered by chain restaurants covered under the amendment. Violators of the regulation will face $200 fines. See The New York Times…
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued draft guidance for industry titled “A Labeling Guide for Restaurants and Retail Establishments Selling Away-From-Home Foods—Part II (Menu Labeling Requirements in Accordance with 21 CFR 101.11.” When finalized, the guidance is intended to assist chain establishments with 20 or more locations (e.g., grocery stores, quick service restaurants, pizza delivery outlets, convenience stores, movie theaters, fast food restaurants) comply with menu-labeling requirements for standard menu items, including self-service offerings. See Federal Register, September 16, 2015. Issue 578
Citing stakeholder concerns over insufficient time to achieve appropriate implementation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended by one year the compliance date for its controversial menu-labeling rule from December 1, 2015, until December 1, 2016. The new requirements apply to restaurants and similar retail food establishments with more than 20 locations, as well as food facilities in movie theaters, amusement parks and other entertainment venues. According to a statement from FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor, the agency will continue its ongoing discussions with covered establishments and plans to release draft guidance in August 2015 that answers frequently asked questions about complying with the rule. See FDA Statement, July 9, 2015. Issue 571
The New York City (NYC) Board of Health has reportedly agreed to consider a proposed amendment to Article 81 of the NYC Health Code that would require food items containing more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium to be singled out on menus and menu boards with a salt-shaker icon and an accompanying warning statement. The proposed initiative would affect restaurant chains with more than 15 locations nationwide, and the mandated warning would state that the “sodium content of this item is higher than the total daily recommended limit (2,300 mg). High sodium intake can increase blood pressure and risk of heart disease and stroke.” Health officials assert that the average NYC adult consumes about 3,200 mg of salt daily (40 percent more than the recommended daily limit) and that restaurant and processed foods are the greatest sources of dietary sodium. If adopted, the warnings would take effect on December 1,…
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging the $1 surcharge that P.F. Chang’s imposes on its gluten-free menu items violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against those with celiac disease. Phillips v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, No. 15-344 (N.D. Cal., removed to federal court January 23, 2015). The complaint asserts that P.F. Chang’s maintains a separate gluten-free menu that charges $1 more than seemingly identical items on its regular menu and that it does not add a similar surcharge for other dietary accommodations. The plaintiff alleges that the surcharges lack justification because they “do not reflect additional costs of ingredients” and some of the items “are the same as the non-gluten free options or contain fewer ingredients” or are “naturally gluten free.” The plaintiff seeks certification of a California class and violations of the state’s Unruh Act, Disabled Persons Act and Unfair Competition Law. Issue…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized two rules under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that require chain restaurants and vending machine operators to disclose calorie information on menus or at the point of purchase. Generating more than 1,100 public comments, the federal rules aim to standardize labeling requirements “to provide consumers with more nutritional information about the foods they eat outside of the home.” Effective December 1, 2015, the menu-labeling final rule applies to restaurants and similar retail food establishments with more than 20 locations, as well as food facilities in movie theaters, amusement parks and other entertainment venues. According to FDA, which narrowed the scope of the rule to focus on restaurant-style food, the new labeling provisions cover standard menu items, certain alcohol beverages and multi-serving dishes labeled on a per-serving basis, but exempt “condiments, daily specials, temporary menu items, and food that…
In response to Affordable Care Act provisions, requiring restaurants and similar retail food establishments to provide calorie and other nutrition information for menu items, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and a bipartisan group of senators have reportedly requested that the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) review nutrition labeling regulations to “ensure that any measures adopted will allow flexibility for restaurants and avoid unnecessarily burdening food retail establishments where nutrition information is already prevalent.” “Since FDA published its proposed rule to implement nutrition labeling of standard menu items at chain restaurants, many concerns have been raised about the regulations expanding to non-restaurants, such as grocery and convenience stores, where the vast majority of food products are already labeled with nutritional information,” wrote the senators in a May 30, 2014, letter to OMB Administrator Howard Shelanski. “The proposed rule also could affect restaurants with highly variable items or different food service…
New Jersey lawmakers have introduced a bill (A2990) that seeks to amend legislation requiring retail food establishments to provide calorie information for food and beverages. Proposed by Assemblywomen Nancy Pinken (D-Middlesex) and Linda Stender (D-Middlesex, Somerset and Union), the bill would require entertainment facilities to provide calorie information for food and beverage items offered for sale, subject to the same requirements that currently apply to chain restaurants. The bill defines “entertainment facility” as “any privately or publicly owned or operated facility that is used primarily for sports contests, entertainment, or both, such as a theater, stadium, museum, arena, automobile racetrack, or other place where performances, concerts, exhibits, games or contests are held.” Issue 519
A number of U.S. House of Representatives members have written to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to express concern over proposed regulations that would implement the Affordable Care Act’s requirements pertaining to the nutrition labeling of standard menu items at chain restaurants. In their February 14, 2014, letter, they claim that FDA’s April 2011 proposal “goes well beyond [the law’s] intent and unnecessarily captures small business owners who are already complying with the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act. Specifically, the proposed rule limits the ability of businesses to determine for themselves how best to provide nutritional information to its (sic) customers, particularly those establishments that offer made to order items or primarily service customers outside the restaurant, such as delivery operations.” They urge Hamburg to incorporate instead the alternatives outlined in H.R. 1249, which has not been referred out of committee since its introduction in March 2013.…
A recent study asserts that the energy and sodium content of main entrées served in U.S. chain restaurants has remained unchanged over a one-year period, despite the enactment of federal regulations requiring menu labeling. Helen Wu & Roland Sturm, “Changes in the Energy and Sodium Content of Main Entrées in US Chain Restaurants from 2010 to 2011,” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, October 2013. Relying on data collected from chain restaurant Websites between spring 2010 and spring 2011, the study’s authors noted that “mean energy and sodium did not change significantly overall, although mean sodium was 70 mg lower across all restaurants in added vs removed menu items at the 75th percentile.” They also reported that even though fast-food chains reduced the mean energy in children’s menu entrées by 40 kcal, the adult-sized dishes with reduced sodium levels “far exceeded recommended limits,” while not all significant changes…
