Washington Report: NACS Urges Support for Menu-Labeling Bill

NACS Daily News
August 28 2012

NACS members can help protect against costly and burdensome menu-labeling regulations by asking their representatives in Congress to support the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act.

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Foodservice is a significant profit center for many convenience store operators, which is why NACS continues to fight on behalf of the industry against pending regulations that would require convenience stores to label the nutritional content of the foods they sell.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA has proposed a rule, as mandated in the health-care law, that would require labeling if the food sold in a store — including prepackaged products and products already labeled by the manufacturer — comprise more than 50% of the store’s floor space. NACS has been pushing back on the proposal and worked with legislators and other food-related industries to help bring legislation to Congress that would allow the FDA to meet the objectives of the menu-labeling law without unnecessarily burdening retailers that rightfully should be outside of the scope of the law.

Authored by U.S. Rep. John Carter (R-TX), H.R. 6174, Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act seeks to limit the provision in the health-care law to establishments that derive 50% or more of their revenue from food that is intended for immediate consumption or prepared and processed on-site. Prepackaged food would not be considered in this equation.