Last month, the FDA gave restaurants, fast food companies and convenience stores an additional year, until May 2018, to include on their menus the caloric content of the food and beverages that they sell. Now, the decision is being challenged in U.S. district court by two consumer groups who say the agency is “randomly sowing chaos” with its delay of useful information.
The National Consumers League and the Center for Science in the Public Interest say menu labeling will help diners count their calories and it will encourage restaurants to offer healthier items and control portion sizes. Two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, says CSPI and one-third or more of Americans eat at fast food restaurants each day.
“There is absolutely no justification for further delaying this menu labeling rule,”said Sally Greenberg of the NCL. CSPI’s Margo Wootan said the delay hurts consumers and the restaurants who already comply with the rule.
A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is to hold a hearing today on a bill to alter the rules for menu labeling. For details, click here. To read a story about the pizza industry fight against menu labeling, published by the Washington Post in partnership with FERN, click here.