Does the New Menu Labeling Law Apply to Health Care Communities?
To implement the menu labeling provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Affordable Care Act), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed requirements for providing nutrition information for standard menu items in chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments. The premise is that the public health impacts of overconsumption of calories and poor nutrition can be partly overcome by providing menu nutrition information at the time and place where consumers make food choices, such as restaurants. Perhaps you have seen the addition of calorie information to the menu in your favorite restaurant? This 2010 law was supported by both the National and California Restaurant Associations as it created a single Federal law for menu labeling.
On April 6, 2011, FDA published in the Federal Register their proposed enforcement rule for nutrition labeling of standard menu items. The question is whether this menu labeling law applies to hospitals and other licensed health care facilities such as SNF. How or where would our dining services be required to post not only calories, but the other eight nutrients that must be made available upon request? How would this information help LTC residents to make better food choices?
Although this law was effective March 23, 2010, the food service industry has been waiting for the final enforcement guidelines to fully understand the impact of the law. These new proposed restaurant menu labeling enforcement rules are very clear that healthcare menus are NOT covered by this law because they are not the primary business of the hospital, kitchen and dining services do not constitute more than half of the facility square footage, and the cafeteria does not constitute more than 50% of the revenue of hospitals. The proposed rule also states that contractors providing food service in a hospital would not need to comply with the menu labeling in their hospital accounts just because they provide food services to other types of restaurant establishments in 20 or more locations that are covered.
Nutricopia menus include free nutritional analysis of key nutrients with each seasonal cycle menu.
You can email one of our dietitians with your questions at dietitian@nutricopia.co.
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