Days before menu-labeling regulations were to take effect, the Food and Drug Administration filed an interim final rule for White House review that would allow the food industry more time to comply with the regulations. The brief notice posted by the White House budget office, which acts as the gatekeeper for federal regulations, provided no details.
The proposal follows a petition from the National Grocers Association and the National Association of Convenience Stores that asked for reconsideration of the rule, part of the 2010 health care law, said The Hagstrom Report. The regulation was to take effect on May 5.
“The menu labeling rule is critical to the health of the American people and it is outrageous that the Trump administration is delaying its implementation in the eleventh hour,” said Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the congressional sponsor of the provision. In a statement, she said the FDA should allow the regulation to move forward as a public health matter.
At the same time, an effort is underway in Congress – pushed by the Pizza industry – to replace the menu labeling law with a weaker measure, according to a recent story FERN published with the The Washington Post.