The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) appreciates your consideration of these comments to assist you with reviewing pursuant to Executive Order 12866 and Executive Order 13563 the Food and Drug Administration‘s (FDA or the Agency) final rule implementing § 4205 of the Affordable Care Act1 (ACA), which requires restaurants and ―similar retail food establishments‖ that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name to provide calorie and other nutrition information for standard menu items (the Final Rule). On April 6, 2011, FDA published a proposed rule to implement § 4205 (Proposed Rule). The Proposed Rule2 as written will impose a burden on the supermarket industry of $1 billion in the first year alone. Indeed, the Office of Management (OMB) in the FY 2011 Information Collection Budget of the United States ranks the Proposed Rule as one of the most burdensome, imposing nearly 15 million burden hours. We believe the hourly burden will actually be substantially greater and the cost estimate of the paperwork burden at $70 million is far too low.

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