Op-Ed Argues for Common-Sense Menu Labeling

CEOs of the pizza, grocery and convenience store industry pen an op-ed in this week’s Detroit News, supporting the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act.

November 27, 2013

DETROIT – An op-ed in this week’s Detroit News voiced support for the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act (CSNDA) of 2013, H.R. 1249, which modifies the menu labeling rules proposed by the Food and Drug Administration.

Signed by executives of the pizza, grocery and convenience store industry, the opinion piece emphasized the economic value that the CSNDA brings.

“The Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act is an important bill for many homegrown Michigan businesses, including hundreds of chain and independent grocers, Domino’s Pizza, and Hungry Howie’s Pizza,” the executives wrote. “If passed, this bill would provide relief to 20,000 U.S. pizzerias in the American Pizza Community, 35,000 grocery stores, and 148,126 convenience stores, in addition to over 400,000 U.S. workers in the pizza industry, 3.5 million in the grocery industry, and 1.8 million in the convenience store industry who have been threatened by onerous and ineffective regulations drafted by FDA.”

The letter characterized the FDA’s menu labeling provision as “one-size-fits-all” rule that burdens businesses. “We do not believe that FDA should proceed with such a costly approach that would fail to advance consumer education.”

They said H.R. 1249 includes practical reforms that would encourage innovation in consumer education and limit burdensome regulatory costs, including simplifying the disclosure of nutrition facts for variable menu items like pizza.

“Moreover, non-restaurants would not be ensnared in menu labeling unless the majority of their revenue is derived from prepared foods,” the op-ed concludes, “more closely following the intent of the law and saving mainstream grocery stores and convenience stores, which already provide nutrition information on over 95% of foods sold, from over $1 billion in new, unnecessary compliance costs.”

NACS recently praised a Senate companion measure to H.R. 1249 that was introduced last week by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Angus King (I-ME).

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