Posted May 20, 2015
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is facing major blowback over a controversial ObamaCare rule that requires restaurants to list the number of calories in the foods they sell, according to The Hill article available here. Agri-Pulse also published an article available here.
The menu labeling requirements, set to take effect in December, are under attack from both sides of the aisle, setting up a showdown between Congress and the Obama administration.
A group of 32 senators is demanding acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff delay the rules until after the 2016 presidential election, which could give the next president a chance to block the rule altogether.
FDA issued the labeling rule last November, but the agency has yet to issue guidance for complying with the requirements, the senators noted, according to Agri-Pulse.
“While we recognize the benefit of improved access to nutritional information for consumers, we are concerned that the lack of clear and consistent guidance from the agency will make it difficult, confusing, and burdensome for businesses, particularly smaller businesses, to implement the new requirements,” the senators wrote in a letter.
The labeling rule, which was a requirement of the 5-year-old Affordable Care Act, applies to companies with 20 or more locations, including supermarket delis.
Health advocates say consumers will benefit from the menu labeling requirements because they would have access to more information about the foods they eat, according to The Hill.
Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said that a “delay is reasonable” but that “we’re anxious to get the calorie labeling to the public as soon as possible.”
For more information on food labeling, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
Share: