On a mostly party-line vote, the House passed a bill that exempts restaurant chains from the menu-labeling law if at least 50 percent of their sales are made off-premises. The bill was then sent to the Senate. Critics such as the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the legislation, titled the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, is a favor to the pizza industry, the leading advocate for the bill.
The FDA aims to begin enforcement in May of the 2010 law that requires food retailers to display in public the calorie count of standard items on their menus. CSPI vice president Margo Wootan says the House-passed bill “would upend disclosure by letting restaurants invent misleading serving sizes, hide calories in hard-to-find places inside supermarkets and convenience stores, and remove calories from inside pizza chains.” That’s because the bill would allow the retailers to list calories per serving rather than calories per item.
Sponsor Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington state, said her bill “is about flexibility. It makes it easier for customers to actually see and understand the information because it’s displayed where customers actually place orders—including by phone, online, or through mobile apps.”
FERN previously covered the issue in a story with the Washington Post here.
The roll call vote on HR 772 is available here. Voting for the bill were 234 Republicans and 32 Democrats. Voting against it were 156 Democrats and one Republican.