WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a letter from U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will delay new menu labeling requirements at supermarkets, grocery stores, and similar retail locations for one year. In May, Senators Collins and King, along with several of their Senate colleagues, urged the agency in a letter to delay the regulations so that these establishments in Maine and around the country, which often sell food for in-store consumption, would receive adequate time and guidance to comply with the new regulations. In a written response to the senators, the FDA has said that it will delay implementation of the rules until December 1, 2016.
 
“We are encouraged the FDA has listened to our concerns and those of businesses across the country, and will continue to work with Maine stores to provide the guidance they need to adjust to the new regulations,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “As the Commissioner of the FDA has acknowledged herself, these new rules are very complicated, which is why grocery stores and supermarkets in Maine deserve to have the time and guidance necessary to help transition to the new rules.”
 
Senators Collins and King joined with four of their Senate colleagues – Senators Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), Heidi Heitkamp (D- N.D.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), and Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) – on a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell that asked for a delay in the implementation of the new regulations of at least a year. The FDA falls under the jurisdiction of HHS.
 
The new menu labeling requirements are the result of a provision in the Affordable Care Act that calls for a national, uniform nutrition-disclosure standard for foodservice establishments, primarily intended for restaurants. The FDA first released draft regulations to implement this provision 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.
 
The FDA issued its final menu labeling regulations in December of 2014, and businesses originally had until December 2015 to comply with the regulations. Following the FDA’s decision, they will now have until December 2016 to do so. The agency plans to issue a draft guidance document in August 2015 to answer some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the menu-labeling rule and help stores as they work to comply.

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