House lawmakers want to delay implementation of a controversial federal rule that will force restaurants to label menus with nutritional information.
The one-year delay was inserted into a funding bill for the Food and Drug Administration released by the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. The rule is expected to go into effect Dec. 1.
The rule, announced in 2014, calls on chain restaurants and restaurant-type establishments to show calories for menu items. Take-out and delivery restaurants will be affected, and so will bakeries, coffee shops and pizzerias, as will eateries in supermarkets.
If an eatery doesn’t comply, the FDA can come in and seize their food supplies, sue them or even issue criminal penalties.
The rule was mandated by the Affordable Care Act and was supposed to combat obesity by showing Americans the consequences of what they eat. However, it has been met with confusion and anger from the restaurant industry on which types of eateries are affected.
For instance, there is a question over whether pizzerias have to put calorie counts on every delivery box of pizza, which can be incredibly difficult based on which toppings are chosen.
Earlier this year, former FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told senators there was “still considerable confusion about what is in the rule.”
House appropriators did give the agency more money in fiscal 2016, which starts Oct. 1. The agency received a $41.5 million boost over current funding for food safety activities and received a $106 million increase over current levels.
