The U.S. federal government allows, according to this editorial, 1,000
times the amount of E. coli in oysters as the state of Florida, and asks,
who would you prefer set the standard? Marion Aller, the state Agriculture
Department's director of food safety and a nationally recognized expert
on the subject, says that a bill making its way through Congress threatens
Florida's food safety standards.
The House passed the bill (H.R. 4167) and the Senate will considered
it in coming weeks. Don't be fooled by the bill's innocuous title, the
National Uniformity for Food Act. "It's about more than food labeling,"
Aller said. "It pre-empts state food adulteration laws." Florida
PIRG found that while the state regulates the sanitation of shellfish
processing, no such federal law exists. Aller said Florida sets a strict
limit on the amount of E. coli bacteria present in oysters; federal guidelines
allow 1,000 times the state limit. State law requires inspections of milk
production and food safety in restaurants; federal law does not. Florida
also has its own strict code for fresh and processed citrus products.
All of those extra protections could be lost if the bill wins Senate approval.
Food manufacturers would like all authority turned over to the malleable
federal bureaucracy, presumably so companies can sell their food products
with less oversight. Only the Senate stands in the way of this threat
to consumers. Floridians should urge Sens. Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson
to stand firm against any power grab by the federal government or erosion
of state food safety protections.
Opponents of Federal Food Safety Bill say it would override stricter
state standards on warning labels for products causing birth defects
April 24, 2006 medilexicon http://www.pharma-lexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=41998
Opponents of a House-approved national food safety bill (HR 4167), including
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), say the
bill would override stricter state laws, such as one in California requiring
warning labels for products that can cause birth defects or cancer, the
Contra Costa Times reports (Hannah, Contra Costa Times, 4/20). The bill,
which the House approved in a 283-169 vote last month, would prohibit
states from enforcing food safety label laws stricter than those approved
by FDA (San Francisco Chronicle, 4/19). A state would be allowed to petition
FDA to have its laws applied nationally, and the state's laws could remain
in effect until the agency rules on the petition (Fischer, Oakland Tribune,
4/20). According to Congressional Budget Office projections, the petition
process under the legislation could take more than two years and cost
up to $400,000 per petition. CBO also estimated the bill would cost FDA
$100 million over five years.
Support, Opposition
A coalition of more than 140 groups that include businesses and food industry
organizations support the measure, and 39 state attorneys general opposed
it, The Hill reports (Sheffield/Schor, The Hill, 4/19). Supporters of
the bill say it would create national health and safety standards for
food labels and prevent businesses from having to customize products to
meet differing state standards. However, Boxer and Feinstein at a news
conference on Tuesday said they oppose the bill because it would override
much of California's 1986 food safety law (Contra Costa Times, 4/20).
Proposition 65 in California requires businesses to provide a "clear
and reasonable" warning on any product that could cause reproductive
harm or cancer (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/23/05). California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) in a letter to Feinstein dated April 18
said he also opposes the bill. Schwarzenegger wrote that California citizens
"fought hard to provide warning labels on products that knowingly
expose individuals to any substance that may cause cancer, birth defects
or other reproductive harm," adding that FDA "has limited activity
concerning food contaminants that cause cancer or reproductive effects"
(Feinstein release, 4/18). However, Cal Dooley, a former member of Congress
and head of the Food Products Association, said, "California would
have the opportunity to present the science-based evidence to the FDA,"
which, if "compelling, ... could become the national standard"
(Oakland Tribune,
4/20).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org.
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