Blog

Why restaurants should use menu-labeling delay to ensure accuracy

Even though some public health advocates have claimed the extension is a setback for public health, the good news is the delay gives food service operators, specifically the pizza industry, time to get it right.

April 4, 2016

In any given industry, it's only a matter of time before issues once in the background of best practices take center stage. The restaurant industry is no different. Gluten-free wasn't a household name until a few short years ago, and even then the discussion of gluten-free in restaurants remained a backdrop to other issues.

Menu labeling is no different. Even though food items in grocery stores have been labeled since around 1965, the nutritional disclosure of menu items in restaurants was a distant conversation until recent years. And while it took some time for menu labeling to take center stage, the conversation and controversy were almost all-consuming once it did. Now that the fire has waned, food-service operators know where they stand and should also now know they have been given an extra year to comply.

Fortunately for restaurant, grocery and some convenience store operators, the FDA has extended its menu-labeling deadline until Dec. 1, 2016. At the time the extension was announced, Michael R. Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, said that the organization agreed and understood that food-service operators needed more time for clarifying guidance.                                    

Even though some public health advocates have claimed the extension is a setback for public health, the good news is the delay gives food service operators, specifically the pizza industry, time to get it right.

Getting it right means more than having time to post nutritional information on menu boards. It means accurately gathering and reviewing product information and making sure the correct information gets communicated to consumers and employees.

No doubt employees will be asked questions in regard to switching ingredients on specialty pizzas or other menu items, and continued instruction in this area could be the difference when it comes to creating loyal and long-term guests.

Employees should be trained to know the calories of your most popular menu items and to know how alterations could impact some of the nutritional information. This is because customers will ask and some will make ordering decisions based on that specific information. If customers have questions about how nutritional information was calculated or updated, employees also should be able to refer to a company disclaimer. This disclaimer is designed to protect your brand, employees and guests and needs to include the steps your brand has gone through to ensure menu labeling compliance. Make sure to post it in-store and online, and position it near other disclaimers that highlight allergen or gluten-free ingredients. 

While the menu-labeling legislation does not specifically address issues of food safety, it should give customers more insight as to what goes into each menu item. This will again enable staff to better answer questions that pertain to specialty-needs diners.  

If food safety is an issue, this delay also will give operators time to prepare the correct protocols for handling specialty-need requests. This can include the development of a color-coded food production method for allergen-free menu items and/or the production of an additional disclaimer that can be used on paper menus or menu boards.

Operators need to keep in mind that everything they now do — and will do in the future — should be about protecting the lives and health of their customers. The FDA is not working this hard to make it more difficult for restaurant operators to run their businesses. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Everything happening now is about protecting operators from unwarranted criticism or lawsuits because the FDA is offering another layer of protection for everyone involved. Just make sure you use this time wisely and do not hesitate to give us a call if you have questions or need additional support.