Calorie Labeling for Vending Machine Snacks

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed several recent federal regulations that would implement the obesity-fighting measures in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. One of these proposed regulations [full text from Justia Regulation Tracker] would “require that for an article of food sold from a vending machine that does not permit a prospective purchaser to examine the Nutrition Facts Panel before purchasing the article, or does not otherwise provide visible nutrition information at the point of purchase…the vending machine operator must disclose the number of calories for the article of food.” The FDA posits that providing calorie disclosure for vending machine food would help consumers make healthier snacking choices.

You can learn more about researching federal regulations, including proposed rules, in our Administrative Law Research Guide.