After repeatedly delaying the requirement that restaurants post calorie counts and other nutritional information on their menus — and after being sued by groups alleging that these delays are against the law — the Food and Drug Administration has finally agreed to start enforcing the menu labeling rule, beginning in May 2018. [More]
calorie counts
Did FDA Illegally Delay Menu Labeling Rules?
By 6.7.17
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would be delaying the implementation of a rule requiring calorie counts and other nutritional information on the menus of many restaurants for the third time. That decision didn’t sit well with some consumer advocates, including two groups that have filed a lawsuit challenging the delay. [More]
Some Restaurant Chains Putting Calorie Counts On Menus, Even Though They Don’t Have To
By 5.3.17
Even though the Food and Drug Administration has once again decided to delay enforcement of a new rule requiring restaurant chains and others to include calorie information on their menus, some companies have decided to just go ahead with displaying this information. [More]
FDA Delays Rule Requiring Calorie Count On Menus Yet Again
By 5.2.17
Three years after the Food and Drug Administration finalized a new rule requiring calorie counts on the menus of many restaurants, the agency has decided to delay the implementation of that rule for the third time — giving chain eateries, vending machine owners, and others extra time to comply. [More]
Senators Pitch Last-Minute Attempt To Exempt Pizza Places From New Menu Labeling Law
By 2.23.17
On May 5, 2017, new federal regulations finalized three years ago will go into effect that require chain restaurants with 20 or more outlets to post calorie counts on their menus, as well as on food items sold in vending machines and snack bars. Before that happens, lawmakers in the Senate have introduced a bill to make a few revisions. What would those revisions mean for consumers faced with making mealtime decisions? [More]
Subway Posting Calorie Counts On Menus Nationwide Ahead Of Final Federal Regulations
By 4.5.16
It seems someone has gotten a little bit impatient: instead of waiting for federal regulations requiring chain restaurants and other businesses to post calorie counts on menus and displays to finally go into effect, Subway is going to go ahead and slap those numbers on its menu boards nationwide now. [More]
Government Pushes Back Deadline For Restaurant Menu Labeling Again
By 3.29.16
A law requiring calorie counts to be posted for most food items that people eat outside of their homes was part of the Affordable Care Act, which passed in 2010. Resistance from different parts of the food industry means that its implementation kept getting pushed back. Now, the newest delay pushes the deadline into 2017, and the calorie counts would be implemented under the next president. [More]
House Passes Bill Weakening Rules For Menu Calorie Counts In Restaurants
By 2.12.16
Hey, remember how the Food and Drug Administration gave restaurants a yearlong extension on the deadline for getting their act together regarding calorie counts on menus nationwide? They were supposed to get their acts together and post that information on menus nationwide by December of this year. Now, though, a new bill passed in the House of Representatives seeks to change that before eateries are forced to comply. Which wouldn’t be for another few years. [More]
FDA Giving Businesses Another Year To Comply With Rules Requiring Calorie Counts On Menus
By 7.9.15
Restaurants and other businesses that were living under a deadline to include calorie counts on menus and displays will get a bit of wiggle room to comply with the rule passed by the Food and Drug Administration last fall. The agency now says food purveyors will have another year to get their acts together, extending the previous deadline from Dec. 1, 2015 to Dec. 1, 2016. [More]
Coming Soon: Vending Machine Calorie Counts
By 12.30.13
The Affordable Care Act doesn’t just mean highly entertaining conversations over dessert amongst your relatives this holiday season. There’s one new requirement that’s been sort of overshadowed by health insurance exchanges and electronic medical records: companies that own more than 20 vending machines will have to post calorie counts for the items they sell. [More]
Time To Face The Mochafrappuchocalatte Music: Starbucks To Post Calorie Counts
By 6.18.13 — Updated: 1.4.16
Like avoiding eye contact with that vague acquaintance from work — the one you have absolutely nothing to say to — who ends up in your train car on the way home, it’s inevitable. You’re going to probably end up looking at Starbucks’ new calorie count postings because they’re there, you know they’re there, and it’s better to just get it over with. Say hello to the future. [More]
FDA Says Writing Menu Labeling Regulations That Please Everyone Is A Tough Task
By 3.12.13
If you’re hankering for a calorie count on your local restaurant chain’s menus, it’s going to be awhile: the Food and Drug Administration says it’s finding the task of writing up menu labeling regulations a very tricky one. The requirement to include calorie counts on menus and in vending machines is part of the 2010 health care law, but the rules on which businesses must comply have yet to be written. [More]
Coke & Pepsi Vending Machines Will Get Calorie Counts, Push Low-Calorie Drinks
By 10.8.12
Even though soda cans and bottles now feature large, clear calorie counts, the makers of the biggest brands of fizzy drinks have decided to go ahead and put calorie information on some of their vending machines starting in 2013. [More]
Fast Food Calorie Counts Don't Stop Kids From Overeating, Either
By 2.15.11
A provision in last year’s federal health care reform bill requires all food-serving establishments with more than 20 outlets to post the calorie count of every item on the menu so customers know exactly what they’re getting themselves into. The FDA is taking nationwide an idea that some cities and counties had already put in place. It seems like a good idea in theory, but studies show that calorie counts on menus just make people say “ah, screw it” and order the same amount of food that they would have without the calorie posting–or more. A new study in this month’s International Journal of Obesity shows that children, too, fall into the same delicious caloric trap. [More]
Calorie Count Rules Coming To Theaters, Airplanes, Convenience Stores, Supermarket Food Courts
By 8.31.10
The FDA says the law that requires restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to post calorie counts also applies to other types of businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal. Specifically, movie theaters, airplanes, trains, food courts in grocery stores, and convenience stores are all considered chains and will soon have to start following the law. The agency hasn’t made up its mind yet whether things like salad bars in grocery stores will have to fall in line. The FDA will announce official guidelines in December. [More]
Burgerville Chain Adds Calorie Counts To Receipts
By 8.22.09
We’ve heard about fast food restaurants posting calorie counts on menus, but a small regional chain in the Northwest is experimenting with putting nutritional information on receipts.
Massachusetts Fast Food Chains Must Now Display Calorie Counts
By 5.14.09
Massachusetts has approved a new regulation to list calorie counts at fast food eateries and other chain restaurants throughout the state.
