At the end of April 2016, FDA released the final guidance on menu labeling providing recommendations on compliance with the menu labeling rule, which requires calorie information to be listed on menus, menu boards, and displays of restaurants and other retail food establishments that are part of a chain of 20 or more locations. This guidance covers many of the topics for which FDA received questions and which were not addressed by the rule on menu labeling or the draft guidance, or for which the information provided was unclear. For instance, FDA answers questions related to covered establishments that are a chain of restaurants that operate under different names depending on location; menu and menu board calorie declaration requirements that apply to catered events, combination meals, "all-you-can-eat" buffets, or grab-and-go items; determination of nutrient values general criteria; whether USDA or FDA caloric or other nutrient determination requirements apply to alcoholic beverages and in which cases; and recordkeeping of substantiation of nutrient values. In addition, FDA clarifies that prisons and mobile vendors are not covered by the final rule.

Release of the final guidance also signals that the countdown to implementation of the final rule on menu labeling will begin soon. The final rule will become effective one year from the publication date of this guidance, as indicated by the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition ("CFSAN") director at the beginning of March 2016 (see our previous Jones Day Update). Publication in the Federal Register is expected on May 5, 2016.

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