Supermarket Industry Commends Approval of Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act

ARLINGTON, VA—Food Marketing Institute and the supermarket industry appreciate Chairman Greg Walden’s (R-OR) leadership and the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s approval of the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act (H.R. 772).  H.R. 772 is a bipartisan bill led by Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Congressman Tony Cardenas (D-CA), and others on the House Energy & Commerce Committee to build some needed flexibility into FDA’s final menu labeling rule, which was expanded to regulate grocery stores without making accommodations for the variety of formats, food offerings or other local initiatives in a grocery store setting.

“The committee's strong bipartisan vote demonstrates both Congress' and supermarkets' continued interest in getting the FDA "menu labeling" standards fixed and implemented in a common sense way that fits the variety of foods and formats of grocery stores,” said Jennifer Hatcher, FMI Chief Public Policy Officer.  “We appreciate Reps. McMorris Rodgers and Cardenas for co-leading this effort.”

The bill includes sensible modifications that the supermarket industry has continually requested, such as preserving the ability to sell locally-made and locally-sourced foods, allowing for the use of a central menu board for a salad bar, and providing the ability for corrective actions and liability protections for good-faith compliance efforts. 

Enacting this legislation would direct and provide FDA with the ability to incorporate these critical changes into the current menu labeling rule and finally resolve some of the problems that we have been encountering.  In addition, the bill demonstrates supermarkets’ commitment to a federal menu labeling standard and ensures that the process moves forward to successful final implementation.