A new federal regulation requiring chain stores and restaurants to post labeling on menus featuring calorie counts may be delayed by a last-minute petition to the White House.
The Food and Drug Administration signaled in paperwork filed Thursday that it may be delaying the date when the rule takes effect, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Proponents of the regulation are worried that it may never go into effect, given that President Donald Trump’s administration has tried to get rid of regulations it has deemed to put additional burdens on businesses, the Chicago Tribune said.
Although the rule may not take effect next Friday as scheduled, many restaurants that spent large amounts of money printing new signage may use it even if the law does not go into effect, the Tribune stated.
It has taken proponents seven years to get the rule, which was passed as part of the Affordable Health Care Act in 2010, this far. Public health advocates see the disclosure as a way to help consumers police themselves and make better choices when eating out, and the National Restaurant Association supports the rule as a solution to many different regional rules that can be confusing for restauranteurs, USA Today reported.
Opponents argue that menu boards are not needed for restaurants that do most of their business through deliveries or online, and that costs of signage, often in the thousands of dollars, are prohibitive for smaller businesses, the Tribune reported.
“Of course it might be getting delayed when we’ve already done all the work,” said Naf Naf Grill co-CEO David Sloan. His Chicago-area, Middle Eastern restaurant chain has spent more than $17,000 for compliant menu boards that would be installed next week, the Tribune reported.
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