A new health law will require all vending machines in the United States to include calorie information of all products being sold, Yahoo! News reports.
New labeling regulations for vending machines included in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law will put these changes into effect in the coming months. The Food and Drug Administration says that showcasing calorie information on approximately five million vending machines across the US will help consumers to make healthier choices. The cost of this venture is estimated at $25.8 million initially and will cost $24 million per year thereafter. Although the cost is expected to be high, the FDA says that if just .02 percent of obese adults ate 100 fewer calories a week, the savings to the healthcare system will be much greater.
The new healthcare rules will apply to 10,800 companies that operate 20 or more machines, and wherein three quarters of those companies have three or fewer employees and their profit margin is extremely low, according to the National Automatic Merchandising Association. "The money that would be spent to comply with this - there's no return on the investment," said Eric Dell, the group's vice president for government affairs.
Although the new rules will give companies a year to comply, the industry group has suggested a two-year deadline and is urging the government to allow as much flexibility as possible in implementing the rules. Some company may opt to use electronic displays to post calorie information while other companies may opt to sticking signs unto the machines. Carol Brennan, owner of Brennan Food Vending Services in Londonderry admits that she is not pleased with the new law and is unaware of how she will handle it. "It is outrageous for us to have to do this on all our equipment."
