Calorie labels on menus delayed again

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Wondering how many calories are in that restaurant hamburger? You may not be able to find out until 2017.

The Food and Drug Administration said this month that it will delay enforcement of menu labeling rules – again – until next year. Passed as part of the health care overhaul in 2010, the rules eventually will require restaurants and other establishments that sell prepared foods and have 20 or more locations to post the calorie content of food “clearly and conspicuously” on their menus, menu boards and displays.

The years of delays have come as supermarkets, convenience stores and other retailers that never wanted to be part of the law have fiercely lobbied against them. The move will leave the final step to a new president, despite the Obama administration’s staunch support of menu labeling and other food policies to help Americans eat more healthfully. And it will give opponents more time to gather support for legislation that would roll back some of the requirements.

The final rules were released in 2014, after the FDA said it had struggled to balance the concerns of retailers with the intent of the law. Restaurants and other retailers originally had until the end of 2015 to comply. Last summer, the FDA pushed that deadline back to the end of 2016. This month, they pushed the deadline back again.

Grocery stores and convenience stores have said the rules would be more burdensome for them than they would be for restaurants, which typically have more-limited offerings. Pizza chains such as Domino’s also have opposed the rules, saying they don’t make sense for companies that take most of their orders online or over the phone.