The nasty effects of Obamacare just keep on coming. Today it’s grocery stores complaining about a costly new rule that could raise the cost of doing business. As usual, those costs will be passed along to the consumers.

Supermarket owners argue a pending federal food-labeling rule that stems from the new health care law would overburden thousands of grocers and convenience store owners — to the tune of $1 billion in the first year alone.

Store owner Tom Heinen said the industry’s profit margins already are razor thin. “When you incur a significant cost, there is no way that that doesn’t get passed on to the customer in some form,” he said.

The rule stems from an ObamaCare mandate that restaurants provide nutrition information on menus. Most in the restaurant industry were supportive of the idea, but when the FDA decided to extend the provision to also affect thousands of supermarkets and convenience stores, the backlash was swift.

The proposed regulation would require store owners to label prepared, unpackaged foods found in salad bars and food bars, soups and bakery items. Erik Lieberman, regulatory counsel at the Food Marketing Institute, said testing foods for nutritional data will require either expensive software or even more costly off-site laboratory assessments.

Lieberman said failure to get it right comes with stiff penalties: ”If you get it wrong, it’s a federal crime, and you could face jail time and thousands of dollars worth of fines.” (Read More)

Of course, the bureaucrats defend this rule saying they’re trying to “help” people.

Update: Linked by Expose the Media – thanks!