When will the FDA publish a final rule on calorie labeling on menus?
As for calorie labeling in chain restaurants - which was enshrined in the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and outlined in April 2011 - the final rule is still pending, said Dr Dubost, who predicted there might be some movement on this after the midterm elections.
But uncertainties remain over who must comply, with strong disagreement over what constitutes “similar retail establishments” aside from restaurant chains with 20+ outlets, she said.
There is also uncertainty over whether alcoholic beverages will be covered, how wide calorie ranges should be (is ‘100-300 calories’ too broad to be helpful?) and how accurate calorie data must be given that restaurants don’t produce foods on an assembly line.
As to whether calorie labeling works, the data is inconclusive, she said, with half of studies showing a positive impact and half showing no impact.
