Are My Ten Thousand Command “Mints” to Be Regulated?

The Food and Drug Administration FDA wants to regulate serving size of breath mints. That's right.

This rule was issued March 2014:

“Food Labeling: Serving Sizes of Foods That Can Reasonably Be Consumed At One-Eating Occasion; Dual-Column Labeling; Updating, Modifying, and Establishing Certain Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed; Serving Size for Breath Mints; and Technical Amendments”

They're extending time for comments, it was announced this week. Things like the definition of a single serving deserve careful attention, and "Each request conveyed concern that the original 90-day comment period does not allow sufficient time to develop a meaningful or thoughtful response to the proposed rule."

The things America chooses to waste time and resources on always amazes.

I used to work at FDA for a short time and opposed labeling mandates that were being initiated even then for a number of reasons. But now I reckon I'm an outlaw, as I was reminded by my colleague Ryan Young, who tweets as @RegOfTheDay.

I write an annual report called Ten Thousand Commandments, surveying trends in federal regulations. So, for fun I had some novelty souvenir mints made up for our Annual Dinner and other occasions. Yep, I called them Ten Thousand Commandmints. They have no label at all.

Clearly I deserve punishment. As my friend and former Cato Institute colleague Adam Thierer (he's now at the Mercatus Center) chided on Twitter; "Indeed! The tryanny of too many tic tacs per package!"

But, alas, it must be so; another friend tweeted: "Thank God. Can you imagine the alternative? Chaos."