Calorie labels on menus to cost millions, group says

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is close to finalizing mandated calorie counts on menus at chain restaurants and fast food eateries, as well as vending machines. 

The regulations, required under the Affordable Care Act, apply to establishments with 20 or more locations operating under the same name and selling the same items.

Expenses associated with analyzing and labeling each menu item and purchasing new signage would cost industry more than $700 million, according to the American Action Forum (AAF).

That number incorporates more than 14 million estimated work hours that would need to go into to the effort at some 280 million establishments nationwide, according to Sam Batkins, the AAF’s director of regulatory policy.

Batkins’ analysis is available here, and the AAF’s breakdown of estimated costs can be found here.

The administration is expected to finalize the rules in September.