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The National Restaurant Association is working closely with the FDA to ensure a smooth transition for the new federal menu labeling law.
The federal menu labeling requirement that took effect May 7, 2018, requires many restaurant establishments to post calories on menus and menu boards and make other nutrition information available to guests upon request. The National Restaurant Association is working to educate its members about compliance and ensure a smooth transition as enforcement of the menu labeling requirement gets underway. The Food and Drug Administration's focus during the first year was on educating restaurants about the requirements. Enforcement began May 7, 2019.
Congress enacted the federal menu labeling law in 2010, requiring restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain of 20 or more locations to add calorie data to menus and make other nutrition information available to guests upon request.
The National Restaurant Association worked with more than 60 public health and other business groups in support of the nutrition disclosure law. The industry supported the following principles that formed the basis of the law: