Nutrition Labeling of Menu Items in Restaurant - Assignment Example

Memorandum for congressman Sogreat FDA proposed rule: Nutrition Labeling of Menu Items in Restaurant Issues: in this NPRM, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposes to implement the provisions of patient protection and Affordable Care Act 2010 that requires certain chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments to provide calorie and nutrition information for the items on the standard menu. Statutory Authority FDA has studied the effect of the proposed rule under executive orders 12866, and 13563, the regulatory flexibility Act, and the unfunded Mandate reform Act of 1995. These executive orders 12866, and 13563 guide agencies to evaluate all costs and gains of obtainable regulatory options and, if regulation is essential, to decide on regulatory advances that maximize net benefits (plus potential environmental, economic, public health and safety effects, equity as well as distributive impacts). Executive order 13563 stresses the importance of measuring both costs and benefits, of decreasing costs, of balancing rules, and of supporting elasticity. This regulation has been voted an economically significant rule, in sector (f) (1) of the executive order 12866. Consequently, the rule has been evaluated by the management with budget (p.1). The Regulatory Flexibility Act entails agencies to examine regulatory alternatives that would minimize any major impact of a rule on little entities. Applying the Small Business Administration (SBA) meaning of small for industrial subsectors in accommodations, service, food, retail food stores, and recreation, FDA hesitantly concludes that a considerable figure of firms involved by this proposed rule are little businesses (p. 2). Background The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines overweight for an adult (20 years or older) as a body-mass index between 25 and 29.9 (CDC, 2010). An obese adult is a person whose BMI is above 30. Sources published by CDC show that 68% of the adult population in the U.S is overweight, and 34% suffer from obesity. For adults, overweight or obesity increases susceptibility for many chronic diseases such as coronary heart diseases, arthritis, stroke, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and other types of cancer. BMI 35 and above is related to excess mortality, majorly from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer are the leading sources of death and disability in the U.S. they account for 70 percent of the overall bereavements in the U.S. CDC also defines obesity for children as a BMI at the 95th percentile drawn on their BMI-for –sex and age growth graph. Overweight children are characterized by a BMI-for-age range of 85th to 95th percentile. Under this definition, about 32 % of children and teenagers are obese or overweight. This is associated with obesity in adulthood and many health risks. The main risk factors of overweight and obesity in the whole population are the overconsumption of calories and physical inactivity (p. 6) Americans consume one-third of their total estimated calories on foods prepared outside the home, and now so end nearly half of the annual food dollars on the foods mad outside their homes. People are not aware of the estimated number of calories in restaurant foods. In a survey of 193 adults, most of them underestimated the content of calories in the foods prepared outside the home. They were perceived as “healthier” food choices by many. Many retail food businesses do offer nutrition information for at least a portion of their offerings, either through accessible brochures, or, more and more, on the Internet. A 2006 research found that 34 percent of the top 300 chain restaurants had nutrition information available to consumers in some form (p. 7). Although several of the usual market malfunctions that justify regulatory act, such as the existence of market influence or public goods, cannot be found at this point, the primary hold up for government involvement is a lack of adequate nutritional information, produced by an insufficient incentive for restaurants to generate that information individually. The proposal The affordable act, amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), amongst others, require similar retail food establishment and restaurants with a chain of 20 or more businesses in different locations using the same name to present calorie and any other nutrition information in the standard menu items, and also food on display or self service food. The provision in the Affordable Care act, restaurants and similar retail food establishment are not covered under the law and may become subject to the Federal law by registering with FDA yearly. The menu labeling requirement for section 4205 refer to the standard menu items for sale in “covered establishments.” The covered establishments should give information on the quantity of calories in the “menus” and “menu boards,” and some nutritional information upon request, for the “standard menu items,” for “food on display,” “combination meals,” “variable menu items,” and self-service food.” In the proposed rule, FDA tentatively resolved that the term “menu” or “menu board” include any writing in the covered establishment which is the main writing from which people makes on order. These include orders in the internet (p. 7). Establishments that willingly register to be subject to the Federal necessities, which may be personally owned, or part of a company that controls establishments in a chain of less than 20 places, can meet the SBA definition illustrated above. While the deliberate nature of the registration means that these latter companies see a supportive net benefit after becoming subject to the Federal necessities, this does comprise a potentially significant economic impact (p. 3). Pros and cons Although several factors bring to obesity, to the degree that the proposed requirements would moderate the occurrence of obesity and co-morbidities, society would get the opportunity cost of the avoided medical expenses and a raise in productivity from avoided debilitation and death. Apart from informing consumers on the calorie substance for restaurant and restaurant-type foods presented for sale by enclosed food establishments, major forecasted aspects of the consumer and industry reaction to this proposed rule may comprise: 1. Increased alertness regarding the caloric substance for foods presented for sale by covered establishments, which might help reduce the current bias in preferences, and therefore, encourage the eating of lower calorie alternatives. 2. Increased consumer curiosity in lower calorie alternatives, and greater intelligibility regarding calorie substance of menu items, which could give firms an encouragement to: a. Lessen the calorie content of presented items through reformulation or by reducing portion size. b. Provide extra items with lesser calorie formulations. Note that any decrease in calorie intake in these situations, might be at least partly frustrated by a raise in calorie intake in other meals or snacks. This replacement of one calorie supply for a new has been established in the context of menu classification and in the context of other efforts to adjust food choices. Since FDA lacks information on how consumers will replace between caloric supplies, also information on the receptiveness of calorie demand to the latest information, the benefit estimations provided here may be advanced or inferior to those that will be apprehended if the regulation is established as proposed. Lastly, there may be extra benefits to the extent that consumers apply the written diet information to make food choices. If the cost of meeting the proposed requirements result to increase in prices for some or every restaurant and restaurant-type foods presented for sale by covered establishments, next the eating of these foods will decrease, further dropping profits for some, or each, of these establishments. Consumers would be required to pay more for this food, necessitating some lessening in other, cherished, consumption (p.6). Excluding for some possible costs of nutrition examination, the outlays of the proposed rule are examined at either the chain or the establishment point, so that the universal costs are not mainly a function of the real number of firms involved. The main elements of cost for the proposed rule include: 1. Collecting and organization of records of nutritional investigation for all standard menu items. 2. Revising or restoring existing menu boards, menus and other entailed displays. 3. Training workers to comprehend nutrition data in order to help guarantee conformity with the proposed necessities. Although not obligatory of the proposed requirements, some chains or establishments may react to improved consumer attention on caloric substance of restaurant and restaurant-type foodstuff by redefining presented menu items or by launching new, lesser calorie items. Although the costs linked with preparing these items have not been incorporated in the cost evaluation, FDA has incorporated the cost connected with analyzing new items. Since the pace, at which these items are initiated may be influenced by the propose requirements (p.7). Recommendation I recommend that the proposed act be accepted since the cost of obesity outweighs the nominal cost by a greater margin that restaurants will incur in listing nutritional information. The Act will help in curbing the causes of obesity in the U.S. The benefits also out weigh the costs that are to be sustained in the execution of the proposed act. In terms of additional costs to the establishments, it is not much difference since they incur the same cost while changing menu items. The proposed Act should include more definitions and requirements as possible so as to include more establishments as possible. Letter Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061 Rockville, MD 20852 Re: Proposed Regulations Related to Food Labeling in Restaurants (Docket No. FDA-2011- F-0172 and RIN No. 0910-AG57) Dear Ms. Kathleen Sebelius I appreciate the chance to comment on the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed Act published in the Federal Register on April 6, 2011, which executes the menu labeling conditions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 needing restaurants and similar retail food establishments to offer nutrition information for typical menu items. Affordable Care Act of 2010 I know that the regulatory adjustment can only put in place necessities set forth in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. In spite of my wish for every food item traded in every establishment to incorporate adequate nutrition information so that I never have to presume the amount of carbohydrates and fiber, I comprehend that the Food and Drug Administration does not so far have the capability to put such broad necessities in place. However, I suppose that the proposed regulations ought to include meaning and requirements broad enough to include as countless establishments as possible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Sincerely, ………………… Sogreat , Congressman Reference March 2011, Food labeling: Nutrition Labeling of Standard Menu Items in Restaurants and Similar Retail Food Establishments Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. re FDA-2011-F-0172-0001 Read More