S. 3128: the National Uniformity for Food Act
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S. HRG. 109–741 S. 3128: THE NATIONAL UNIFORMITY FOR FOOD ACT HEARING OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON EXAMINING S. 3128, TO AMEND THE FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COS- METIC ACT TO PROVIDE FOR UNIFORM FOOD SAFETY WARNING NO- TIFICATION REQUIREMENTS JULY 27, 2006 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 29–373 PDF WASHINGTON : 2007 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:11 Mar 02, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\DOCS\29373.TXT SLABOR1 PsN: DENISE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming, Chairman JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts BILL FRIST, Tennessee CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee TOM HARKIN, Iowa RICHARD BURR, North Carolina BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia JAMES M. JEFFORDS (I), Vermont MIKE DEWINE, Ohio JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada PATTY MURRAY, Washington ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah JACK REED, Rhode Island JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York PAT ROBERTS, Kansas KATHERINE BRUNETT MCGUIRE, Staff Director J. MICHAEL MYERS, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:11 Mar 02, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\29373.TXT SLABOR1 PsN: DENISE CONTENTS STATEMENTS THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2006 Page Enzi, Hon. Michael B., Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, opening statement ....................................................................... 1 Burr, Hon. Richard, a U.S. Senator from the State of North Carolina, opening statement .............................................................................................................. 2 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 4 Feinstein, Hon. Dianne, a U.S. Senator from the State of California, opening statement .............................................................................................................. 6 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 7 Boxer, Hon. Barbara, a U.S. Senator from the State of California, opening statement .............................................................................................................. 9 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10 Chambliss, Hon. Saxby, a U.S. Senator from the State of Georgia, opening statement .............................................................................................................. 13 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 14 Roberts, Hon. Pat, a U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas, opening state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 15 Stadtlander, William, Owner, Homestat Foods, Dublin, Ohio ............................. 19 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 Hutt, Peter Barton, Senior Counsel, Covington and Burling, Washington, DC. ......................................................................................................................... 23 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 24 Murano, Elsa A., Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX .......................................................................... 30 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 Hubbard, William K., Former Associate Commissioner for Policy, Food and Drug Administration, Chapel Hill, NC .............................................................. 36 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.: Senator Kennedy .............................................................................................. 52 Senator Hatch ................................................................................................... 53 Senator Jeffords ................................................................................................ 54 Senator Nelson .................................................................................................. 54 Leslie G. Sarasin .............................................................................................. 55 Thomas R. Frieden ........................................................................................... 56 Benjamin Cohen ............................................................................................... 59 Response to Questions of Senator Jeffords by Panel II ................................. 86 Response to Questions of Senators Enzi, Kennedy, and Reed by William Stadtlander .................................................................................................... 87 Response to Questions of Senators Enzi, Kennedy, Harkin, Reed, and Clinton by: Peter Barton Hutt ..................................................................................... 90 Elsa A. Murano .......................................................................................... 109 Response to Questions of Senators Enzi, Kennedy, Harkin, and Reed by William K. Hubbard ................................................................................ 111 Letters of Support ............................................................................................. 116 Letters of Opposition ........................................................................................ 123 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:11 Mar 02, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\29373.TXT SLABOR1 PsN: DENISE VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:11 Mar 02, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\29373.TXT SLABOR1 PsN: DENISE S. 3128: THE NATIONAL UNIFORMITY FOR FOOD ACT THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2006 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m. in Room SD-430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC., Hon. Michael B. Enzi, chairman of the committee, presiding. Present: Senators Enzi, Burr, Isakson, Feinstein, Boxer, Chambliss, and Roberts. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ENZI The CHAIRMAN. Good morning and welcome to this hearing on food safety standards and warning requirements. Today’s hearing will help the committee understand how the National Uniformity for Food Act might affect food safety across our Nation. In looking at foods, we see that nutrition labeling is nationally uniform, health claims are nationally uniform, and allergen labeling is na- tionally uniform. As a result, consumers have consistent science- based information about these products. Yet warning labels and other notifications vary from State to State. How do I as a con- sumer use these different warnings to make good decisions in food choices? What do I do if benefit information is always the same but the risk information is different, depending on where I live? Can a loaf of bread be more dangerous in California than the same loaf in Wyoming or Massachusetts? The bill before us today, the Na- tional Uniformity for Food Act, would create a uniform, national system of food safety standards and warning requirements. The bill would create this system by preempting State laws regarding food warning labels and tolerances. The bill provides that where FDA has acted by setting a safety standard for a food ingredient, the States would adopt and enforce the same standard. If FDA has not set a safety standard for a particular substance in food, the States would remain free to set and enforce their own standards. The bill would also provide for national uniformity in product warnings. States would not be permitted to require a warning in labeling, ad- vertising, or any other form of public communication if that warn- ing differs from that imposed under Federal law. States would re- main free to issue their own public warnings under State laws. Under the bill, a State with the requirement that differs from a re- lated Federal requirement could petition the FDA either to adopt the requirement as a national requirement or exempt it from the (1) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:11 Mar 02, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\29373.TXT SLABOR1 PsN: DENISE 2 requirement of uniformity. FDA’s decisions on State petitions would occur only after public input. The bill before us seeks con- sistency in substantive standards between State and Federal re- quirements. It does not address how requirements are enforced. The State requirements and authorities for handling potentially hazardous foods, sanitation, date marking and related issues would not be effected by the legislation. The bill also would preserve