Grocerant Menu Label Regs Delayed

With the compliance date for the Affordable Care Act’s new menu regulations now postponed until May 7, 2018, industry groups are calling for cost-saving reforms to the original rules.

Not all prepared foods are created equally, and chain grocery stores have argued that their grocerants don’t adhere to a standardized menu from location to location the way that burger or pizza chains do. FoodDive reported that two major food industry trade groups, the National Grocers Association and the Food Marketing Institute, contend that grocery stores already employ extensive nutrition labeling. These groups supported a bipartisan bill last month to further clarify the menu labeling program set forth by the Food and Drug Administration.

Earlier this year, FMI and NGA pushed the FDA for concessions on the menu labeling law so that retailers could post calorie counts on menu boards rather than on every last cookie in the bakery case. Concessions would also minimize the risk of punishment for human error at stores.

Grocerant-Ready Ideas:

• Touting nutrition information availability
• Detailed menu info available online
• Nutrition labels included wherever possible—house-made packaged desserts, single-serve dressings, pizza boxes