Dec 09, 2013 05:09 PM EST
Food Industry Debates Label Requirements Under Obamacare

Fast-food restaurants and grocery stores will soon be feeling the financial struggle with the release of new menu labeling requirements for Food and Drug Administration under Obamacare.

According to FOX Business, section 4205 of the Affordable Care Act, will require updated nutrition labeling of "standard menu items." The act will be liable for restaurant chains that carry 20 or more locations. The act applies to convenience stores and groceries.

The law states that grocery stores with deli services and convenience stores that sell prepared foods are ordered to agree with the labeling requirements, but the new law is sparking debate from many in the food industry. A final ruling to organize the specific details of the label requirement is not expected to be worked on until the end of the year.

"FDA's proposed menu labeling rule imposes a billion-dollar burden on supermarkets, with no additional, quantifiable benefit to supermarket customers, according to FDA's analysis," Jennifer Hatcher, senior vice president for government and public affairs at the Food Marketing Institute, said in a statement.

Some are calling the menu labeling requirement a "massive government intrusion," but opponents state the labeling requirement will help customers eat healthier while eating eat out, citing the growing number of obesity cases.

"It's bad enough for restaurants, but worse that the FDA would try to overreach and add convenience and grocery stores as well," said Daren Bakst, a research fellow in agriculture policy at the Heritage Foundation. "The research is at best unclear and some of the most prominent studies are showing that in fact it's done the opposite in terms of reducing calorie intake; it's actually increased it."

Bakst called the labeling requirement the government's approach to fixing nutrition. The National Grocers Association has approved separating fast-food chains from grocery stores  of the new.

"The scope of the nutrition labeling provision as proposed by Congress was to provide a uniform standard for chain restaurant menu labeling, not grocery stores," NGA President and CEO Peter J. Larkin said in a statement. "NGA applauds Senators Blunt and King for introducing this common sense legislation, and we look forward to working with Congress to pass this key legislation and prevent such a large and costly regulatory burden from passing on to our members.

Dan Roehl, senior director for government relations at the National Restaurant Association, said despite supporting the labeling standards, they represent a more "national approach."

"Having to produce a different menu and menu board for different locations wasn't advantageous from a business standpoint," Roehl told Newsmax.

According to Drexel University School of Public Health, individuals ordered healthier meals when labeling information were made available. Bakst said Americans are unaware that the "menus are a part of the expansive new healthcare law."

"It is particularly scary because it goes with the government interfering in our lives," he said. "It's the underlying assumption that we can't make decisions on our own and government should help us make the right decisions. If the government doesn't think people are making the right choices in restaurants, the next thing will be bans or more aggressive action to try to restrict what people eat."

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