The Food and Drug Administration is encouraging restaurants to voluntarily include added sugars in the nutritional information on menus.
In draft guidance issued Wednesday, the agency said when it finalized the menu labeling rule in 2014, the additional written nutrition information was aligned with the nutrition information required in the Nutrition Facts Label. In 2016, FDA amended the Nutrition Facts Label to include “added sugars” as a required nutrient but didn't insert added sugars in the menu labeling requirements.
“Including the amount of added sugars for standard menu items could help consumers meet current dietary recommendations,” the draft guidance says. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting calories from added sugars to less than 10% of total calories per day.
Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, said while the Sugar Association supports transparency for all ingredients, including sugar and artificial sweeteners as well as calories, "the draft guidance for voluntary menu labeling continues an overly narrow focus on added sugars despite a lack of evidence indicating that such a focus improves dietary patterns or health outcomes.”
Gaine said added sugars consumption has gone down by 30% since 2000; at the same time, obesity in children increased by 45% and in adults by 37%.
Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, told Agri-Pulse the updated guidance is likely to have a "very minimal" impact as long as the disclosure is voluntary.
A spokesperson for the National Restaurant Association welcomed FDA’s development of the supplemental guidance.
“While we continue to assist members with frequently asked questions regarding menu labeling requirements, it is helpful to understand the agency's current thinking on this topic,” the spokesperson said in an email to Agri-Pulse. “We look forward to continuing to work with the FDA as we review this draft guidance.”
The draft guidance also encourages third-party platforms such as DoorDash to list the menu information on apps and websites.
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“We recognize that using TPPs for online food ordering has increased since the menu labeling requirements were finalized, and we encourage covered establishments to provide important nutrition information for the standard menu items offered on a TPP, especially for chains that already provide this information on their own websites and for which this information is readily available.”
Ronholm said the guidance "will become meaningful only when this important nutrition information is required to be disclosed on third-party platforms," he said.
Comments can be made on the proposed changes within 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
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