Why's FDA Wasting Time on Vending Machines?

Under the terms of Section 4205 of the Patients Protection and Affordable Care Act, vending machine operators who own or operate more than twenty machines will be required to disclose the calorie content of the items in their machines. There’s a Latin phrase: Parvus error in principiis, magnus in conclusionibus. It means that a small error in principles can be large in its conclusions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent decision to implement a rule requiring vending machines to disclose the calorie content of the items in stock is a great example of this.

The FDA has the primary responsibility for insuring that the nation’s pharmaceuticals and medical devices are safe for the American consumer.  For some in Washington this responsibility now seems to cover ensuring that consumers know which ingredients and calories are in a vending machine product before purchasing their snacks instead of reading the existing details on the item after purchase. Ultimately, this is redundant legislation. A package of M&Ms already has caloric and nutritional information on it, even if it’s in the vending machine.

The FDA’s responsibility should be on approving new drugs and procedures for treating or at least alleviating the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s. Whatever one thinks about candy consumption by Americans, the FDA has more important things than wasting its time regulating vending machines.

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