public-service · menu calorie labeling rules
How 21 CFR 101.11 Defines a Covered Establishment
The definition of a covered establishment in 21 CFR 101.11 includes a 20-or-more-location chain, the same name, and substantially the same menu items.
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Updated: Sources: 1
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What matters now
- 21 CFR 101.11 defines the term 'covered establishment.'
- A covered establishment is part of a chain with 20+ locations under the same name and menu.
- The chain-size threshold applies regardless of ownership, including individually owned franchises.
- The definition includes a chain with 20 or more locations.
21 CFR 101.11 defines “covered establishment” as a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering substantially the same menu items. This article reports the terms of that definition without deciding whether a particular establishment is covered.
This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.
Key points
- The regulation defines the term “covered establishment.”
- A “covered establishment” is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering substantially the same menu items.
- The chain-size definition applies regardless of ownership structure, including individually owned franchise locations.
- The definition includes a chain with 20 or more locations.
The regulatory definition
According to the current text of 21 CFR 101.11:
“Covered establishment means a restaurant or similar retail food establishment that is a part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name (regardless of the type of ownership, e.g., individual franchises) and offering for sale substantially the same menu items…” (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.11)
The definition sets out a chain size, common-name, and substantially-the-same-menu condition. This article does not apply those conditions to a particular establishment.
Covered-establishment criteria
Two details in the definition do the real work of separating covered restaurants from everyone else.
First, the locations must do business “under the same name.” The definition also specifies this holds “regardless of the type of ownership, e.g., individual franchises” (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.11) — meaning a franchise network of 20 or more locations sharing a brand name can meet the definition even though individual franchise locations may be independently owned businesses.
Second, the chain must have 20 or more locations offering “substantially the same menu items” (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.11). The article does not determine how those conditions apply to any particular group of restaurants.
Federal-record location
The version of 21 CFR 101.11 that contains this definition carries the citation “[79 FR 71253, Dec. 1, 2014]” (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.11) in the Federal Register history attached to the section on eCFR. That citation identifies where this text of the regulation was published in the Federal Register — it is a sourcing reference for the regulatory text itself, not a statement about when restaurants were required to begin complying with it.
What this article does not answer
This article explains only the quoted definition of “covered establishment” in 21 CFR 101.11 and its displayed Federal Register citation. It does not determine whether any particular restaurant or chain is covered, evaluate menu calorie information, or provide nutrition or dietary advice.