Health Groups Want Stricter Menu Labeling

More than 80 members of the health community filed a petition asking the government to improve proposed regulations regarding calorie labeling on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants, retail food establishments and vending machines. 

Groups including the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), American Public Health Association, and the National PTA said the proposed regulations do not comply with the labeling law that was passed as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010.

The Act requires the disclosure of calorie and other nutrition information in certain food establishments and for certain foods sold in vending machines. Additionally, on menus and menu boards, statements would be posted concerning suggested daily calorie intake and indicating that additional nutrition information is available on request. Under the proposal, the information would be displayed clearly and prominently on menus and menu boards, including menu boards in drive-through locations; and for individual foods on display.

Under the proposed rules, operators who own or operate 20 or more vending machines would post calorie information for food sold in a vending machine, unless certain nutrition information is already visible on individual packages of food inside the machine. 

While the advocates voiced strong support for calorie labeling on menus at chain restaurants and on vending machines, they filed three major objections and recommended the following:

1. Extend the definition of "restaurants and similar establishments" to include all venues that sell food, including movie theaters, casinos, bowling alleys, stadiums, hotels, airlines, and cafes and delis in superstores.
2. Require calorie labels for alcoholic beverages on menus. Currently, the law does not require calorie information for these drinks, although they are the fifth-largest source of calories in an American adult's diet.
3. Require vending machine operators to post calorie information directly next to the product it describes, rather than on a sign next to the machine.

"It's disappointing that the Administration would weaken the labeling proposals from what Congress required ," said Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "You'd think, given the Administration's strong commitment to addressing childhood obesity, that it would try to provide nutrition information for as many foods in as many venues as Congress required

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"Many of the foods sold in the venues that the Administration has proposed exempting are similar to foods that will be labeled in restaurants. In addition to restaurants, Congress required menu labeling at ‘similar retail food establishments,’ which sell the same types of prepared foods as restaurants. The proposed rule is unfair to traditional restaurants and would significantly reduce the number of venues providing calorie labeling to their customers."