Congress Acts to Require Restaurant Labeling
In March 2009, the Labeling Education and
Nutrition Act of 2009 (LEAN Act) was introduced
in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of
Representatives. The bill as written would amend
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to
require nutrition labeling of a standard food
item that is offered for sale in a food service
establishment that is part of a chain that
operates 20 or more establishments under the
same trade name.
Additionally the bill requires disclosure of
calories prior to point of purchase in a
prescribed way and additional
nutrition information to be in writing and
available upon request. It allows
nutrient content of affected foods to be
determined by nutrient database, laboratory
analysis, or other means that provide a
reasonable basis for nutrient information.
The U.S. House
action does not affect current labeling
practices for restaurant foods until the
measure is included in a bill that the president
signs. As written the bill requires final
regulations to be issued not later than two
years after the Act is signed into law.
Read
bill - search
bill numbers S558 and H1398
Commentary:
Food Consulting Company helps restaurants
provide all types of nutrition and allergen
information to customers. Database analysis is
typically used to determine nutrient content
and laboratory analysis is available if needed. FDA
actually encourages the use of nutrient
databases as a low-cost alternative to
laboratory analysis.
When performed
correctly database analysis can be a better
predictor of a product's nutrient content than
laboratory analysis. This is because the
database method utilizes values that are based
on statistical average of multiple samples of a
commodity or recipe component; laboratory
analysis is typically performed on one sample.
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