New regs for Wednesday: Reindeer, calories, foreign vehicles

Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for importing foreign vehicles, requirements for restaurants to list the number of calories in their food and regulations for people who keep reindeer as pets.

Here’s what is happening:

Calories: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing new guidelines for restaurants and retailers that sell prepared food.

The FDA’s draft guidance issued Tuesday will provide restaurants with more instruction on following the agency’s new menu labeling requirements, which were issued last December.

The menu labeling rules require certain restaurants and grocery stores to list the number of calories in prepared food they sell, but many companies complained they were unclear on how to follow the rules.

The draft guidance will provide more instruction on how to comply with the menu labeling requirements.

The public has 45 days to comment.

Reindeer: The Interior Department is looking to regulate Santa’s sleigh.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is requesting approval from the Obama administration to continue collecting information from people who use Alaskan reindeer as pets.

“The information to be provided includes an applicant’s name and address, and where an applicant will keep the reindeer,” the agency wrote. “The applicant must fill out an application for a permit to get a reindeer for any purpose, and is required to report on the status of reindeer annually.”

The public has 30 days to comment.

Cars: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is updating the list of foreign vehicles that may be imported into the U.S., even though they were not manufactured to comply with federal safety standards.

The changes go into effect immediately.

Pot: The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is cracking down on a new synthetic marijuana.

The DEA is temporarily listing the synthetic cannabinoid in schedule 1 along with other drugs such as heroin.

The changes go into effect immediately.