Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012

Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. Requires the nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board to include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole product; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per the common unit division of the product, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Permits such information to be provided by a remote-access menu, such as through the internet, for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises at the time the order is placed.

Defines “reasonable basis” for a restaurant or similar food establishment’s nutrient content disclosures to mean that the nutrient disclosure is within acceptable allowances for variation in nutrient content, which shall include allowances for variations in serving size, inadvertent human error in formulation of menu items, and variations in ingredients.

Sets forth the methods a restaurant or similar food establishment may use to determine nutritional content for disclosure, including ranges, averages, individual labeling of flavors or components, or labeling of one preset standard build. Defines "preset standard build" as the finished version of a menu item most commonly ordered by consumers.

Applies the nutritional disclosure requirements to retail food establishments that derive more than 50% of their total revenue from the sale of food.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov