Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act a Win for Consumers and Small Businesses

Washington, D.C. – February 2, 2017 – The American Pizza Community (APC), a coalition of large and small pizza companies, franchisees, suppliers and thousands of employees that make up the pizza industry, endorsed the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, bipartisan legislation that offers consumers and small businesses practical nutrition disclosure solutions.

Introduced in the U.S. House (H.R. 772) by Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5) and Tony Cardenas (D-CA-29) and in the Senate (S. 261) by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Angus King (I-ME), the bill will ensure that customers have access to important nutrition information by allowing small-business pizzeria owners to make the information available online, which is predominantly how most pizza orders are taken, among other key provisions.

“Pizza store owners and operators continue to support the intent behind menu-labeling laws and we’re happy that Congress is taking action to make these regulations workable for small business owners,” said Tim McIntyre, Chair of the APC, and Executive Vice President of Communication, Investor Relations, and Legislative Affairs for Domino’s, pointing out that many pizza stores have been providing nutrition information for years.  “This is not about whether to disclose calorie counts.  It’s about doing it in a way that makes sense,” he continued.  With 34 million ways to order a pizza, and with delivery and pick-up customers ordering online or by telephone, an inflexible requirement to label in-store menu boards with broad calorie ranges for entire pizzas will not enhance consumer education but would come at great expense to owners.

Additional components of H.R. 272/S.261:

• Protects local food items only sold at a few stores;
• Allows the use of a menu or menu board in a prepared foods area;
• Ensures advertisements, signs and other marketing materials are not regulated as “menus”;
• Allows use of a website or app as a means for compliance for ordered items; 
• And, secures enforcement and liability protections for good-faith compliance efforts and inadvertent human errors.

The current menu-labeling rule was called the third most onerous in 2010 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  If implemented as currently proposed, the rule would cost billions of dollars, require 14.5 million hours in compliance time and have significant impacts on small business owners’ ability to create new jobs without adding to customers’ access to nutritional information.

With more than 74,000 pizza stores in the U.S., small business owners are regularly impacted by numerous federal and state regulations.  According to the APC, the bipartisan support of the bill in both the House and Senate is evident of its straightforward common-sense approach rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.

About The American Pizza Community

The American Pizza Community is a coalition of the nation’s large and small pizza companies, operators, franchisees, vendors, suppliers and other entities that make up the American pizza industry.  

Current members include Blackjack Pizza, Breadeaux Pizza, Domino’s Pizza, Figaro’s Italian Pizza, Godfather’s Pizza, Hungry Howie’s, Hunt Brothers Pizza, the International Pizza Hut Franchise Holders Association, Little Caesars, Nick-N-Willy’s, Papa John’s Pizza, Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Papa's Pizza To-Go, Papa Romano's Pizza, Pieology, Pizza Factory, Pizza Schmizza, and Sam & Louie's Pizza. Supplier partners include Coca-Cola, Leprino Foods Company, Middleby Marshall, Paradise Tomato Kitchens, PepsiCo and Tyson Foods.  Affiliate partners include the Consortium for Common Food Names, the National Pork Producers Council and the Tomato Products Wellness Council.  www.AmericanPizzaCommunity.com

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