WASHINGTON -- The National Automatic Merchandising Association reports that its government affairs division has taken part in a Food and Beverage Roundtable with the leadership of the Republican Conference in Congress.
Among the Congressional leaders who attended were Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Washington), who chairs the conference; Rep. James Langford (Oklahoma), who is Republican policy chairman; and the conference secretary, Rep. Virginia Foxx (North Carolina).
At the Roundtable, NAMA senior vice-president of government affairs Eric Dell discussed policy matters related to calorie disclosure at the vending point of sale, the rules for which the Food & Drug Administration is drafting; the interim final rules governing "competitive" foods sold in schools, recently released by the USDA; and the challenges presented by "healthy" food and beverage mandates.
Dell observed that an important component of participating in the roundtable was the opportunity to work alongside NAMA's industry partners. These include the American Beverage Association; American Bakers Association, National Confectioners Association; American Frozen Food Institute; Food Marketing Institute; Grocery Manufacturers Association; International Bottled Water Association and National Grocers Association.
"It was very exciting to join industry coalition partners in presenting our policy positions to Republican leadership of the U.S. House," Dell said. He tendered the association's thanks to Rep. McMorris Rodgers and her staff for organizing the valuable discussion, and for making it possible for NAMA to participate in discussing topics of concern to its members.
NAMA is the national association representing the $42 billion U.S. vending and refreshment services industry
