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FDA Draft Guidelines on Calorie Labeling for Chain Restaurants and Vending Machines Released for Comment

By Andis Kaulins

The USA has gone to counting calories to deal with the national obesity problem.

The FDA has released draft Calorie Guidelines requiring calorie labeling of foods for chain restaurants and vending machine operators pursuant to healthcare legislation previously enacted.

Andrew Zajac, Tribune Washington Bureau, reports in the August 25, 2010 Los Angeles Times at FDA to require restaurant chains, vending machines post calories that:

"The calorie disclosure requirement applies only to restaurants and other food chains with 20 or more locations and vending machine operators with 20 or more machines."

There is a 45-day public comment period on the guidelines, after which the guidelines will be enforced.

I am at a loss to understand why the calorie guidelines do not apply to all restaurants and why they discriminate unreasonably against large restaurant chains.

The guy who has no McDonalds in his town and gets his burgers and fries at the small restaurant on the corner will thus arguably remain obese since he can't count his calories as easily -- i.e. the idea of the law is to cut obesity, regardless of whether one dines in chain restaurants or local eateries. Or am I missing something?

Full post as published by LawPundit on August 25, 2010 (boomark / email).