ARLINGTON, VA – March 21, 2013 – Food Marketing Institute (FMI) today backs legislation that will direct the Food and Drug Administration to implement a restaurant menu labeling provision enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in the way in which Congress originally intended: to provide a uniform standard for chain restaurants with 20 or more locations in order to preempt the various state and local menu labeling laws. FMI Regulatory Counsel Erik Lieberman released the following statement in support of efforts by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) to reintroduce the bipartisan Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, H.R. 1249, into the 113th Congress:
“Congress never intended for supermarkets to be regulated under menu labeling, and this bipartisan legislation reflects concerns that the agency has overreached. PPACA [Patient Protection Affordable Care Act] did not grant FDA authority to regulate supermarkets as restaurants. FDA has even acknowledged in the rule that Congress did not direct them to regulate grocery stores.
“This legislation emphasizes that food retailers do not want to argue over semantics or assumptions. The language, ‘similar retail food establishments,’ never meant to cover traditional grocery stores. By definition, grocery stores are not restaurants, and traditional supermarkets do not have menus or menu boards for displaying similar information as restaurants.
“The vast majority of foods in supermarkets are already labeled with complete Nutrition Facts information. The menu labeling rule imposes a billion-dollar burden on supermarkets — without even a penny’s worth of consumer benefit quantified by FDA. Our industry is rooted in customer service and value, so we commend Representatives McMorris Rodgers and Sanchez for introducing legislation that will preserve consumer choice and prevent increased costs at the register.
“Retailers, lawmakers and consumers all share responsibility in health and wellness, and supermarkets have been championing the needs of their customers to find the most effective ways of assisting consumers in identifying nutritious foods.”
Food Marketing Institute proudly advocates on behalf of the food retail industry. FMI’s U.S. members operate nearly 40,000 retail food stores and 25,000 pharmacies, representing a combined annual sales volume of almost $770 billion. Through programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations, FMI offers resources and provides valuable benefits to more than 1,225 food retail and wholesale member companies in the United States and around the world. FMI membership covers the spectrum of diverse venues where food is sold, including single owner grocery stores, large multi-store supermarket chains and mixed retail stores. For more information, visit www.fmi.org and for information regarding the FMI foundation, visit www.fmifoundation.org.
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