Pei Wei Petitions FDA to Require Restaurants to Disclose Ingredients

This week, fast-casual franchise Pei Wei Asian Kitchen submitted a citizen petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to require all restaurants to publicly disclose ingredients in their menu items.

The move, which was announced in a press release, is likely calculated to promote the pan-asian brand’s own commitment to fresh ingredients, which it is touting with its “Wei Forward” campaign, but that doesn’t mean that the petition is a pure novelty. Pei Wei CEO J. Hedrick points out that the change would not be out of line with the FDA’s recent requirement of some restaurants to post nutritional information on menus.

“We aren't the first brand to launch a clean-label initiative, but we feel so strongly about it that we're calling on the FDA to require all restaurant brands to disclose their ingredients," said Hedrick. “To me, it's just common sense. The FDA's new menu labeling rule has been well received by the public, and we believe this will be, too.”