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. 2017). 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.
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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.
Source: Food Marketing Institute
