The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began requiring restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations to disclose the number of calories in standard menu items in May 2018.
As of 2017–18, one-third of calories consumed by the U.S. population aged 2 and above were from food prepared away from home (FAFH). Full-service and limited-service restaurants are the two largest segments of the commercial foodservice market, accounting for 69.3 percent of all FAFH sales in 2022. FDA’s new labeling requirements were intended to help consumers make more informed food choices when eating out.
Since FDA’s menu-labeling regulations became effective in 2018, a wide variety of U.S. foodservice establishments that sell restaurant-type food have disclosed calorie counts on menus, including convenience stores, grocery stores, superstores, and concession stands located within entertainment venues. During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, FDA provided temporary flexibility to foodservice establishments if certain menu labeling requirements were not met. That flexibility ended November 7, 2023.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: USDA’s Amber Waves
