For Immediate Release: July 24, 2012
House Moves to Untangle Federal Menu Labeling Red Tape

Pizza shops, convenience stores, and grocery delis would be saved from overreaching and unnecessary federal menu regulation under bipartisan legislation introduced today by Congressman John Carter (R-TX) and 19 original cosponsors.

Carter today unveiled the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012 at a news conference with fellow House Members Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Tim Walberg (R-MI), and Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), along with industry representatives and small business owners.  

“The Affordable Care Act was a 2,000 page bill and most House members had no idea it created new federal regulations on pizza toppings and sub sandwiches,” says Carter.  “The rules the government now seeks to impose on pizza alone would force these guys to wallpaper their stores with calorie information on every possible combination of toppings, while the majority of their customers order delivery over the phone and never come in – and that’s crazy”, says Carter.  “So is trying to force convenience and grocery stores to meet the same labeling requirements as a restaurant.  But the threat of fining a business because a teenage employee put two extra slices of pepperoni on a pizza goes from crazy to scary.”

The Carter legislation would reform the regulations to:

• Allow delivery and take-out restaurants to post their calorie information on their website
• Provide calorie-per-slice labeling instead of whole-pizza only totals
• Protect outlets like pizza shops from having to publish calorie data for millions of possible combinations, and instead offer more consumer-friendly average totals.
• Protect stores from fines and frivolous lawsuits over minor variances in calorie totals due to small random variances in food preparation
• Recognize the differences between grocery store delis, convenience stores, and chain restaurants and ensures the regulations are not unreasonable or unnecessarily burdensome.