Covered Restaurants and Retail Food Establishments Now Have Until December 2016 to Comply
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued an extension of the compliance date to December 1, 2016 for the Agency's "Food Labeling; Nutrition Labeling of Standard Menu Items in Restaurants and Similar Retail Food Establishments" Final Rule (Menu Labeling Rule or the Rule). Covered restaurants and similar retail food establishments now have until December 1, 2016 to comply with the Rule.
On December 1, 2014, FDA published the Menu Labeling Rule requiring covered establishments to disclose calorie and certain nutrition information for standard menu items. The Rule defines "covered establishment" as a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name (regardless of the type of ownership, e.g., individual franchises) and offering for sale substantially the same menu items, as well as a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is voluntarily registered to be covered. For more information on the Menu Labeling Rule, please see the following article.
Beyond extending the Rule's compliance date, FDA also announced that it plans to issue in August 2015 a draft guidance document that will provide answers to some of the more frequently asked questions that the Agency has received to further assist covered establishments in complying with the Rule.
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