Effective National Menu Labeling Requires Accuracy and Enforcement

Abstract

In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amended the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority to require the disclosure of nutrition information of foods and beverages sold in chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments. 1 21 CFR §101.11. Nutrition labeling of standard menu items in covered establishments (2015). Google Scholar The FDA issued the final rules on menu labeling in December 2014, and the regulations were expected to go into effect in December 2015. 2 Food and Drug Administration. Food labeling; nutrition labeling of standard menu items in restaurants and similar retail food establishments. Final rule. Federal Register 2014. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/12/01/2014-27833/food-labeling-nutrition-labeling-of-standard-menu-items-in-restaurants-and-similar-retail-food. Accessed April 11, 2018. Google Scholar This timeline was delayed several times 3 Food and Drug Administration FDA issues final guidance on menu labeling [press release]. http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm498356.htm. Accessed Published 2016. September 2, 2017. Google Scholar and, at the time of this writing, there has been congressional action in the House of Representatives that could both change the timeline and weaken the labeling requirement if also passed in the Senate. 4 Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2017. S.261—115th Congress (2017-2018). Google Scholar Failing further legislative action, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has expressed his support of menu labeling and his intent to move ahead with the revised compliance date of May 7, 2018. 5 Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, on the FDA’s role in ensuring Americans have access to clear and consistent calorie and nutrition information; forthcoming guidance will provide greater clarity and certainty [press release]. https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm573277.htm. Published 2017. Accessed September 2, 2017. Google Scholar , 6 Food and Drug Administration. Food labeling; nutrition labeling of standard menu items in restaurants and similar retail food establishments; extension of compliance date; request for comments. Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/04/2017-09029/food-labeling-nutrition-labeling-of-standard-menu-items-in-restaurants-and-similar-retail-food. Published May 4, 2017. Accessed March 19, 2018. Google Scholar In this commentary, we review the literature on restaurant nutrition mislabeling, and argue that enforcement is a crucial component of menu labeling law implementation. Y. Huang is a research scholar, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA. S. B. Cash is Bergstrom Foundation Professor in Global Nutrition and an associate professor, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA. J. L. Pomeranz is an assistant professor, Department of Public Health Policy and Management, College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York.