Labeling Rules ~ The FDA has us all in limbo

Any day now, or more likely, sometime in 2014, the FDA will release the final rule for the national nutrition/menu labeling law officially meant to apply to restaurants (sit down and counter chains), vending companies, and similar retail establishments.

As of today, the consumer (you and I),  health advocates (myself,  CSPI, the RUDD Center,  many others), the National Restaurant Association, the National Grocers Association, the Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing, pizza restaurants and other food selling/entertainment venues (e.g., bowling alleys, cinemas) remain unawares and unprepared for what will be required.

Of those listed above, the consumer interest groups (and thus a majority of the general public), public health folks and the National Restaurant Association supported the menu labeling law, but the others did not nor did they expect to get caught up in it.  My personal belief is that anyone selling ready to eat, unpackaged food has an obligation to share with the buyer of that food, pertinent nutrition information.  I would include food sold from steam tables in grocery stores, hot dogs and the like sold in convenience stores and items sold from concession stands at bowling alleys, sports arenas and movie theaters.

I do think that pizza joints should get some leeway in how they present the information due to the individual, made to order nature of pizza.

Once the FDA makes its announcement, retailers will have 6 mos to 1 year to comply.  Then the next battle begins.  Updating the nutrition facts panels on packaged foods. In this case, the concern 
(of food companies) is whether the update is going to mandate  labels that imply a foods goodness, e.g., star ratings or multiple traffic lights.

Sharing a Healthy Plate

   Last night I attended a small gathering of doctorate students in Public Health at my university.  We had a pot luck appetizer theme and I took that as an opportunity to get out my tulip platter and wow people with nutrient dense, calorie light treats.  I took a picture and post it below so that you might consider bringing a healthy tray to your next social event.
   Tonight I met a different set of friends.  We are planning our high school reunion.  Our meeting was at a restaurant and someone had preordered a few appetizers.  They were all calorically dense and I chose to just have a beer (:)). So on occasion, I DO drink my calories, but for some, alcohol is health promoting.  This is never true about sugar sweetened beverages!
   Tying these two evenings together is another true thing about me.  I do not eat food to make other people feel comfortable.  I eat when  it suits me to eat (which is related to what the food is and whether or not I am hungry). As you might also know, I don't take kindly to 'food pushers'. {food pushers are those that seem to feel uncomfortable by other people's not eating, or not eating "more"} And yet I am as much a food pusher as any body else and have to restrain my own impulses.[It's a phenomenon of our broader culture - of many cultures]  Last night, if someone had not made a plate of food at our buffet table, I found myself wanting to ask, "Aren't you going to eat something?"  And I did offer to make a plate for one guest in particular -(her hands were full with her twins!).  It's funny isn't it.  In my defense, I never push things that are not part of a quality diet :)
   Here is the tray - which has Wasa crackers and two flavors of Light Laughing Cow cheese wedges (they do not come that way, I bought two and mixed them), grapes in personal sized bunches (I cut them that way), vegetarian eggrolls cut into 50 calorie servings, and my own blueberry cake squares.

Beneath those goodies is a great picture of a tulip - I love tulips.