WASHINGTON —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
A group of 21 foodservice chains sent a letter to members of Congress urging the policymakers to broaden the scope of proposed federal menu-labeling legislation to require more restaurants, convenience stores and supermarkets to post nutrition data for all prepared foods. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Industry officials in June had presented a united front when they expressed support for a bipartisan agreement combining elements of two existing Senate menu-labeling bills. The compromise measure would require chains with 20 or more locations to post nutrition information on menu boards, menus and drive-thru signage. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
The measure, a blending of the Labeling Education and Nutrition Act and the Menu Education and Labeling Act, drew praise from the National Restaurant Association and the National Council of Chain Restaurants as well as such major companies as Burger King, Darden Restaurants and Brinker International. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
But not all chain operators were entirely satisfied with the compromise. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“It’s a very good start, and we think a bill needs to be passed requiring menu labeling with federal preemption,” said Jonathan Blum, senior vice president of public affairs for Yum! Brands Inc., one of the letter’s signatories. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“However, as a matter of good public policy the language should be modified to cover more customers in restaurants, supermarkets and convenience stores.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
In addition to Yum and its individual brands, other chain operators that signed the letter include Texas Roadhouse, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Which Wich?, Captain D’s, Domino’s Pizza, Del Taco, El Pollo Loco, Qdoba Mexican Grill and Jack in the Box. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“While we support many of the key substantive provisions included in [the measure], we believe it is a mistake to limit its application only to large chains,” the letter says. “This limitation, which effectively exempts more than 75 percent of the restaurants in the [United States], is an important flaw that we believe must be addressed.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Instead, the participating chains recommend policymakers set “a reasonable minimum financial standard for inclusion, such as $1 million in annual sales, and/or by applying the requirements to all chains with three or more locations.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“The existing language exempts three times more restaurants than it includes,” Blum said, adding that it isn’t necessary for all 945,000 foodservice operations in the country to provide nutritional information, but the current proposed number is “inadequate.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Travis Doster, a spokesman for Texas Roadhouse in Louisville, Ky., said: “The public thinks they’re getting a nationwide menu-labeling law, and they’re not going to see it in most of their restaurants. You don’t require just the biggest cars to have seat belts; you require all cars.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Doster also said that while the letter has been signed by about 20 chains, the participating operators had held conversations “with many other chains that agree with us but for whatever reason chose not be listed here.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“The picture is not as unified as has been presented,” he said. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Stephen Carley, president and chief executive of El Pollo Loco, said: “If this is about nutrition, any place that serves prepared food should be in the debate. It doesn’t make sense to exclude most restaurants or grocery stores. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“If it’s about punishing chains to the advantage of other food purveyors, that’s just not fair. Why is nutrition news at Pizza Hut but not the local pizzeria?” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Supporters of the existing compromise legislation, however, say they remain committed to the negotiated agreement. Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest—a supporter of the compromise measure—said an amended bill broadening the scope to three or more units or sales of $1 million or more would not be “politically viable.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“I don’t think there’s any chance of that passing,” she said. “We don’t see the political support for it. We’ve worked on menu-labeling policies across the country, and all bills that passed have only applied to chains with 15 or 20 units; they’ve never applied to smaller mom-and-pop restaurants. It’s always more popular with policymakers to provide small-business exemptions.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Wootan also disagreed with the chains’ argument that only 25 percent of all restaurants in the country would come under the umbrella of the measure. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“We believe this covers a lot more restaurants than Yum suggests,” she said. “But what is more important is the percentage of restaurant traffic it covers. NPD figures indicate that chain restaurants account for about two-thirds of all restaurant traffic. The little taqueria at the corner does a lot less business than [a] McDonald’s or Subway [location]. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“When you start adding smaller restaurants, it covers more, but not as many as you’d think.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Beth Johnson, the NRA’s executive vice president of public affairs, said the association “understands there are differences of thought in how the legislation should be written, but we’re all in agreement on the need for a national uniform standard.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“The federal preemption [which would supersede state or local regulations] is essential,” she added. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Johnson agreed that most lawmakers would be disinclined to support a bill that did not offer small-business protection. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“Making any demands on small businesses these days is very tough,” she said. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
Johnson said the compromise measure has support from “a significant number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.” —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
However, she acknowledged that the letter might raise some concerns among lawmakers, and the industrywide effort to pass a federal initiative potentially could lose momentum. —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.
“And losing the opportunity to move forward and lose federal preemption hurts everybody,” she said.— [email protected] —While restaurant operators and association officials agree that the industry needs a uniform national nutrition-labeling standard to avoid a complex patchwork of state and local regulations, some chain executives are claiming that pending legislation does not go far enough to level the playing field.