News

American Pizza Community endorses new menu labeling bill

July 25, 2012

The American Pizza Community has announced support for bipartisan legislation introduced to Congress Tuesday. The Common Sense Nutrition Labeling Bill – introduced by lead Representatives John Carter (R-TX-31) and John Barrow (D-GA-12), along with Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5), Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28), Mike Ross (D-AK-4), Reid Ribble (R-WI-8) and others – would allow small-business pizza owners to comply with federal menu labeling requirements using innovative approaches that strengthen consumer education and reduce regulatory costs.

"This legislation provides a common-sense solution that will expand consumer access to nutrition information while ensuring small businesses are not harmed by needlessly expensive, one-size-fits-all regulations," said Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Papa Murphy's franchisee Joel Meyer, on behalf of APC.

"Consumers have so many options when it comes to ordering – mostly over the phone or Internet for pizza delivery restaurants," said Domino's Pizza franchisee Jonathan Sharp of Abilene, Texas, on behalf of APC. "So, a federal regulation that requires labeling on expensive in-store menu boards makes little sense. When you're a small pizza operator trying to get by on tight margins, regulations like this really affect your bottom line, hurting your ability to grow and hire. I hope Congress will pass this legislation as soon as possible."

Specifically, the bill, among other provisions, would amend existing law as follows:

• Establishments that receive the majority of their orders from customers who order off-premise – such as those that offer a delivery service – to provide calorie information on a remote-access menu, instead of an expensive and rarely-seen-on-premise menu board.
• The option to provide calorie labeling for pizza by the slice, as opposed to whole-pizza labeling.
• Flexibility in providing calorie information for variable food items, such as pizzas, where a multitude of toppings, crusts and sauce create millions of ordering options. These options would include ranges, averages, individual component labeling of ingredients or labeling of standard menu offerings.
• A reasonable basis for nutrient content disclosure, so that establishments acting in good faith are not penalized for inadvertent human error and other variances.

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