The Food and Drug Administration should improve its process for deciding whether states and localities can enforce local rules for nutrition and menu labeling, according to a petition filed today by CSPI and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (Philadelphia DPH) respectfully submit this petition requesting that the Commissioner of Food and Drugs amend the regulation governing State and local petitions for exemption from
the preemptive effects of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s (FDCA) nutrition and menu labeling standards. A more accessible and appropriate path to exemption would enable States and localities to pass innovative food labeling laws that advance public health.
Soup or sandwich? Burrito or tacos? Pancakes or eggs? Here’s how to wade through some popular choices on restaurant menus. In some cases, a WINNER is clear. But win or lose, everyone could use some TIPS to up their restaurant game. Our numbers are from chains, but most winners and tips should hold up elsewhere.
The federal government should help Americans avoid weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems by setting a new added sugars standard for school foods and by requiring restaurants to disclose added sugars, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The petitioners request that the FDA amend its regulations to require chain restaurants to declare added sugars alongside other nutrition information they are already required to publish.
Eating out or ordering in? If the restaurant has 20 or more locations, the menu has to list calories. (The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Nutrition Action’s publisher, led the fight for that labeling law.)
But some menus—especially those online or in apps—are tricky. If you don’t know the catch, you could end up with more calories (and added sugar or unhealthy fat) than you bargained for.
What’s more, on delivery apps like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats, you might see calories...or you might not. That’s why CSPI has asked the FDA to tell companies that menus on “third-party” apps aren’t exempt from the law.
(See other menus without calories? The FDA has said that it would “not object” if restaurants didn’t disclose calories during the pandemic. But c’mon, it’s been well over a year.)
Our survey, conducted in March 2021, found that the largest chains consistently serve up drinks with more than a day’s worth of added sugars, indicating a strong need for added sugars icons to inform consumers and encourage chains to reduce the added sugars sold in drinks.
The nonprofit organization that started the movement to require calories on chain restaurant menus and menu boards—along with five other consumer and health advocacy organizations—says that DoorDash, Seamless, Grubhub, and Uber Eats should be required to disclose calories and other required nutrition information for chains covered by the menu labeling law.
