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GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

Draft Guidance for Industry: Menu Labeling Supplemental Guidance (Edition 2) December 2023

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Draft

Not for implementation. Contains non-binding recommendations.

Docket Number:
FDA-2011-F-0172
Issued by:
Guidance Issuing Office
Human Foods Program

December 13, 2023 

FDA released this draft Edition 2 (below) to propose updates to the existing Menu Labeling Supplemental Guidance. To respond to frequently asked questions regarding menu labeling requirements, the draft guidance, once finalized, will update the existing guidance and addresses the voluntary declaration of added sugars and the voluntary declaration of nutrition information for menus on third-party platforms.

This guidance document addresses stakeholder questions regarding the implementation of nutrition labeling required for foods sold in covered establishments,[1] including examples of alternatives to aid in compliance.  We are proposing to update this guidance document to include new questions and answers regarding voluntarily declaring added sugars as part of the additional written nutrition information for standard menu items provided to a customer upon request and voluntarily providing nutrition information consistent with the menu labeling requirements through third-party platforms.

This is a revision of the first edition of the guidance document entitled, “Menu Labeling: Supplemental Guidance for Industry.”  FDA is adding new Questions and Answers 5.8 and 7.5 to this guidance in response to frequently asked questions regarding the menu labeling requirements.  Specifically, to support further alignment with the final rule, “Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels,” we address the voluntary declaration of “added sugars” as part of the additional written nutrition information under 21 CFR 101.11(b)(2)(ii)(A).  Additionally, we discuss the voluntary use of the menu labeling requirements to help consumers make informed and healthful decisions when ordering their meals online using a third-party platform.  FDA expects to continue to issue subsequent editions of this guidance document, as appropriate, by revising existing questions and answers and by adding new questions and answers.

FDA’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities.  Instead, guidances describe our current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited.  The use of the word should in FDA guidances means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required.

[1] 21 CFR 101.11(a) defines “covered establishment” as a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is a part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name (regardless of the type of ownership, e.g., individual franchises) and offering for sale substantially the same menu items, as well as a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that voluntarily registers with FDA to be covered by the federal menu labeling requirements.  See generally 21 U.S.C. 343(q)(5)(H)(i).

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