A press release from the American Pizza Community announced last week that Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Angus King (I-ME) have introduced the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2013 (S.1756), a much needed bill that would amend current menu labeling requirements as they relate to pizzerias.

Pizzeria operators have been fighting a battle over menu labeling for the past couple of years. This new bill, if passed, will offer a welcome relief to 70,000 business owners.

According to the press release, the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2013 would modify the existing menu–labeling statute in the following ways:

• Pizza delivery stores and other restaurants that rely on orders that are primarily remotely placed – such as over the phone or online – could comply with the law using an online or other remote display of calorie counts.  The draft FDA regulations would require an in-store menu board, which would not capture the full variety of millions of menu options, could cost up to approximately $5,000 per store, per year and might only reach 10 percent of customers.   
• Multi-serving menu items could be labeled by individual serving.  Pizza, for example, could be labeled by the slice rather than the whole pie, in keeping with consumer preferences.
• Variable food items, such as pizza, could use a variety of means, including ranges, averages, individual component labeling of ingredients or labeling of standard menu offerings, rather than conform to a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Restaurants would be held to a reasonable standard in labeling.

Click here to view the full release.