What the FDA menu-labeling regs really mean
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Nations Restaurant News 4/5/11 News Release:
“So you don’t quite feel up to struggling through all 183 pages of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed menu-labeling regulation?
Don’t worry. The editors of Nation’s Restaurant News have read through the epic document and attempted to address many of the key questions food service operators might have about the proposed rules.”
Restaurants not Following The Menu Labeling Laws:
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FDA Delays Menu Labeling Rules………
Nations Restaurant News 3/24/11
News Release: “The agency was scheduled to issue its proposed restaurant menu-labeling rules yesterday but missed its deadline. Sources say they expect the rules to be published imminently.”
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MenuTrinfo™ Announces Menu Makeover Contest.
Nominate your favorite restaurant to get nutritional information for FREE. Look for another contest coming Summer 2011
Press Release about the contest here
Free Webinar Series Designed for Food Service Industry
Fort Collins, CO (PRWEB) November 2, 2010
MenuTrinfo™ LLC, announced today that they will begin a new series of free webinars designed for those in the food service industry who want stay in front of key dietary trends, including the latest information on nutritional labeling.
Betsy Craig, MenuTrinfo’s founder, has just returned from a series of speaking engagements at the Mid-Atlantic Food, Beverage and Lodging Expo in Baltimore, Maryland and the Fast Casual Executive Summit in Chicago, Illinois. “A lot of restaurant owners I talked to appreciated the opportunity to learn more about current topics like food allergy management and nutritional labeling. I realized there is a need to get the word out and to help owners identify the various resources they can tap. In today’s economy, not everyone is able to travel to meetings, so MenuTrinfo is trying to bring the same high-quality information directly to them”.
The first webinar, “Practical Approaches to Special Diets and Nutritional Labeling”, is scheduled for Tuesday, November 16, 2010 from 11:00-11:30 (EST). Anyone interested in attending can register on Menutrinfo’s website: http://www.menutrinfo.com. There is no cost to attend. This session will:
· Discuss current dietary trends
· Review status of menu nutritional labeling legislation
· Identify the various resources restaurant owners can turn to for help
“Betsy Craig is ideally qualified to deliver this information,” says Caron Chance, owner of The Back Door Catering Co. in Quincy, CA. “Betsy has a keen understanding of the current trends toward special dietary requirements and nutritional labeling. More importantly, she can help you turn these requirements into competitive advantages – easily and effectively.
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Tennessee has 3rd-highest obesity rate in U.S. 10/28/10
by JOYANNA WEBER, Banner Staff Writer
Read more: Cleveland Daily Banner – Tennessee has 3rd highest obesity rate in U S
America’s Top 5 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants 10/6/10 
Well, guess what: We surveyed the nation’s 100 largest fast-food chains, as defined by the number of locations, and found many are creating menus that look more and more like what we’d cook ourselves (if we had the time)—from nutritious soups and healthy salads to fresh whole grains and sensible desserts. Even better: They’re offering good-news Mexican, Asian, and Mediterranean fare.
Michelle Obama urges industry to step up efforts in obesity fight
First lady Michelle Obama called on restaurateurs to help put an end to childhood obesity in an address made Monday to the National Restaurant Association’s board of directors at their fall meeting in Washington, D.C.
Thanking those in the foodservice industry who already have made an effort to address the problem, Obama urged restaurateurs to go even further
How to take advantage of menu labeling’s marketing potential 8/9/10
…And actually, this decision-making process is where opportunity emerges for QSRs that get their R&D and marketing departments to sit down together and collaborate (they might want to hide the knives, first).
Gulf seafood industry tries to shake an oily image – 8/7/10
NEW ORLEANS – The rich fishing grounds of the Gulf of Mexico are beginning to reopen more than three months after crude began gushing from the sea floor. But those who harvest, process and sell the catch face a new crisis — convincing wary consumers it’s not only delicious, but also safe.
Menu Labeling: Part II – HOW?
In the next few years, calorie counts will become as commonplace as dollar amounts on restaurant menus. The Health Care Reform bill signed earlier this year includes a provision requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more locations to print calories on menus, menu boards and other merchandising materials. Additionally, the mandate requires that full disclosure of additional nutrients be provided, most likely within the menu or in a brochure or poster format.
Health Care Bill Menu Labeling
“(H) Restaurants, retail food establishments, and vending machines.—
“(i) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR RESTAURANTS AND SIMILAR RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS.—Except for food described in subclause (vii), in the case of food that is a standard menu item that is offered for sale in a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name (regardless of the type of ownership of the locations) and offering for sale substantially the same menu items, the restaurant or similar retail food establishment shall disclose the information described in subclauses (ii) and (iii).
“(ii) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE DISCLOSED BY RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS.—Except as provided in subclause (vii), the restaurant or similar retail food establishment shall disclose in a clear and conspicuous manner—
Nutrition labels at independent L.A. restaurants
Seven independent restaurants — including the popular Chichen Itza — are letting customers know the nutritional content of their standard menu items in a project aimed at curbing obesity in South Los Angeles.
