WASHINGTON-Diners will have to wait until the end of 2016 to find calorie labels on all chain-restaurant menus.
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The Food and Drug Administration says restaurants and other establishments will now have until December 1, 2016 to comply with federal menu labeling rules, a year beyond the original deadline.
The FDA hopes people will see just how many calories they’re about to take in, make wiser choices, and that fast-food chains and other retailers will revise their offerings to meet a new consumer demand for more healthful foods.
The agency in 1994 required nutritional information be displayed on packaged food but exempted restaurants and other ready-to-eat establishments. In addition, they will also be required to say that a 2,000 calorie diet is used as the basis for daily nutrition, though individual calorie needs may vary.
The calorie rule covers meals at sit-down restaurants, take-out food, bakery items, ice cream from an ice-cream store and pizza, which will be labeled by the slice and whole pie.
Some of the rules are complicated.
To keep the process moving, the FDA plans to issue in August a draft guidance to answer frequently asked questions the agency has received to assist covered establishments in complying with the rule, it said.
As they await that guidance, the restaurant industry said the delay would be helpful.
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The rules had already been delayed when the FDA issued them last November. Among these implementation measures are training workers, developing software and installing new menus and menu boards to provide more efficient and specific calorie label displays, according to an FDA statement.
