McCaskill’s action aids stores

By Phil Cobb | July 15, 2015 |

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill

At the urging of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a one-year delay in new menu labeling requirements for supermarkets, grocery stores, and similar retail locations.

The new deadline is Dec.1, 2016. Earlier this year McCaskill sent bipartisan letters to the U.S Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services calling for such a delay.

The establishments affected by the rule, which sell some food for in-store consumption, have never been regulated under menu labeling laws and had not been given adequate time or guidance to comply with the requirements issued Dec. 1, 2014.

McCaskill’s letters pointed out that the FDA did not provide adequate answers to questions or guidance for supermarkets and grocery stores, to comply with the Dec. 1, 2015, deadline.

The requirements stem from a provision in the Affordable Care Act that calls for a national, uniform nutrition disclosure standard for foodservice establishments, primarily intended for restaurants.When draft regulations were set in 2011, however, the agency also unexpectedly incorporated grocery and convenience stores because of the food sold at deli counters, snack bars, salad bars, and other in-store options. By delaying the implementation and compliance date by at least a year, the agency has more time to work with grocery stores, supermarkets, and other similar businesses to provide them with formal guidance to ensure that they fully understand and can comply with the regulations.

Last year, McCaskill asked the Office of Management and Budget to review nutrition labeling regulations to ensure that any measure adopted allowed flexibility for restaurants and avoided unnecessarily burdening food retail establishments where nutrition information is already prevalent

In 2011, McCaskill asked the FDA to narrow the scope of the menu-labeling requirements to establishments that have 50 percent or more of their floor space devoted to “restaurant or restaurant type-food.”