NAMA action alert: FDA calorie disclosure comments

[mission vending]

This came out today from NAMA. Please take the time to submit a comment or two. It just might make a difference in how this law will be enforced.

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NAMA Action Alert

Will You Send Comments to the Government on Calorie Disclosure in Vending?

Right now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking for industry comments on new rules related to calorie disclosure in vending. Will you follow the link below, to tell the Food and Drug Administration about how labeling snacks and drinks will impact your business?

The FDA is currently writing rules which will require vending machine operators that own or operate 20 or more vending machines to disclose calorie information for food or beverages sold from vending machines.

NAMA has been pro-actively working on this issue and is leading an industry coalition. We are preparing comments and encourage members to also submit written comments.

NAMA continues to call on the FDA to:

    * allow flexibility in how disclosure can take place, such as one menu with calorie counts for an entire bank of machines,

    * permit options for posting calorie information that allows multiple products to be placed in the same vending coils or stacks,

    * allow vending operators who produce fresh food for vending machines to have the same technical allowances as chain restaurants,

    * provide legal protection for minor and inadvertent mistakes in calorie disclosure,

    * provide sufficient time to implement any new regulations, and

    * reduce the economic impact of all such rules.

To submit comments electronically please use the www.regulations.gov web site, choose "submit a comment" from the top task bar, enter docket No. FDA-2010-N-0298 in the keyword space and select "search."

You can also “submit comments at the following site: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480b14394

Comments can also be submitted by mail to: The Division of Dockets Management, HFA-305, Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

Won’t you take a few minutes to let the government know how this will impact your business? Here are some ideas to get you started on your comments.

    * I operate _______ number of machines. These new regulations could be very expensive, and so the FDA needs to give us the maximum flexibility in how I have to disclose calories to my customers.

    * Snacks have had calorie information for years, so I just need flexibility and time to comply so that it doesn’t kill jobs at my family business. Our snacks and drinks already have the nutritional facts panel on the package.

    * If I have to put a label on every spiral in every machine and change it every time I re-stock my vending machines….. it’s going to cost jobs.

    * I think that one menu for an entire bank of my vending machines might be the least expensive.

    * Please don’t penalize me if I make a mistake in labeling a snack. If a route driver mislabels the calories on a diet drink, by accident, I shouldn’t be put out of business in penalties.

    * This new regulation could cost me $____ per machine. Since I own ______ machines, I think this could cost me $_________.

Thanks for helping make a difference in this new regulation!

National Automatic Merchandising Association

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