It’s coming! Nutrition labeling for chain restaurants with more than twenty units will be required on menus sometime in the near future. The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law March 23, 2010, includes a provision that creates a national, uniform nutrition-disclosure standard for restaurants. This nation-wide legislation passed as part of the recently passed health reform bill.

Menu Compliance

Although the exact date for compliance has still yet to be determined, analyzing each and every menu item for any restaurant can be time consuming and costly. It’s not too early to engage a Registered Dietitian with recipe development and nutritional analysis expertise to help ready your operation to meet these new menu standards.

Technical Expertise

FitCulinary works with the most updated GENESIS R&D and Food Processor SQL Professional Nutritional Analysis Software and Databases  from ESHA Research, Inc. (www.ESHA.com) All standardized recipes and sub-recipes will be accurately analyzed and FDA approved nutrition labels will be printed that will include Calorie information and so much more! In addition, FitCulinary contracts with professional food testing laboratories to conduct nutrient analyses on those menu items for which a calculated analysis may not be able to provide the most accurate and FDA compliant results.

The following information is excerpted from a Spring 2010 release from the National Restaurant Association (www.NRA.org).

FEDERAL MENU LABELING PROVISION

Who will be affected? Restaurants and similar food retail establishments in a chain of 20 or more locations under the same trade name and vending machines will be affected by this legislation.

What menu items will need to be analyzed?  All “standard” menu items will need to be analyzed. This does not include condiments, most alcoholic beverages, daily specials, custom orders, and menu items in test markets and on the menu less than 90 days.

What information will be required to be disclosed on the menu and/or menu boards/drive through menu boards? ”Total Calories” per standard menu item is the only information required to be displayed on the menu or menu board. However, additional information, including Calories from fat, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fiber and protein must also be analyzed and made available “upon request”.

Does any other information need to be included? Yes, a statement concerning suggested daily caloric intake (2000 Calories per day) and a statement referring guests to where additional information can be found, such as upon request at the restaurant or on the restaurant’s web site must be included.

All restaurants are required to follow protocol for due diligence as it relates to the professionalism, accuracy and reliance of the nutritional analysis of each and every menu item. Operations can protect themselves from unreasonable litigation over the accuracy of nutritional information presented by verifying that all nutrition information has been determined by a “reasonable basis”, such as a professional nutrient database, cookbooks, laboratory analyses, or other reasonable means. Regardless of the means of analysis, a nutrition professional should be engaged in this process to verify accuracy.

If I am an independent restaurateur or a restaurant “group” with less than 20 units, can I provide Menu Labeling voluntarily? Yes, any ”non-chain” restaurants and independently operated restaurants can elect to provide nutrition information to their customers, as well. In addition, all restaurants can take a “pro-active” approach to the pending legislation and provide nutrition information to their guests before a mandatory program becomes effective.

Food Allergens

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires manufacturers to list common food allergens on all food packages labeled for retail sale. The top eight  food allergens included in the labeling requirements are: Eggs, Fish, Milk, Peanuts, Shellfish, Soy, Tree Nuts and Wheat. Although allergen disclosure is not required for restaurants, many restaurants are taking a proactive approach and providing their ingredient-sensitive guests this additional information upon request.