A new bill (HR 4167) currently wending its way through Congress has the potential to protect consumers from the current hodgepodge of irrational safety warnings on foods. Under the bill, which has been passed by the House of Representatives, states would need FDA approval for labeling requirements that differ from federal standards. The bill mandates uniform food safety labels nationwide. The Senate must now approve the House bill or come up with its own version.
Some "consumer" groups are moaning that the bill, should it become law, will prevent warnings about such items as mercury in fish or arsenic in bottled water. That seems unlikely, since the FDA itself has already issued warnings for pregnant women and children on such issues. Sponsors of the House bill intend to prevent the kind of nonsense that currently occurs in California, where Proposition 65 makes it possible to label almost any food with a warning that something in it is "known to the state" to cause either cancer or adverse reproductive effects. Without any attention to the amounts of a substance people normally consume, or to real risk, such warnings do nothing to actually protect consumers. They may even inure people to warnings so that they don't pay attention when a real risk surfaces.
For example, a move is currently underway to force producers of French fries and potato chips to label their products as containing the naturally occurring "carcinogen" acrylamide -- even though acrylamide causes cancer only at high doses in rodents.
Some have complained that this new bill will impede the states' ability to protect their citizens. But the bill explicitly declares that the states won't be prohibited from doing so -- they will be able to notify consumers about recalls or any food adulteration as the case may be. Further, the original bill has already been amended in such as way as to allow states to set standards on contamination if the FDA hasn't already acted; to require expedited FDA review of state petitions dealing with substances that supposedly cause cancer or birth defects; and to allow states to issue warnings about mercury in fish. Thus, there is recognition in the bill of states' concerns. What this bill will do is knock some of the nonsense out of some states' unscientific labeling laws and provide all consumers, nationwide, with uniform and scientifically substantiated food safety labels.
Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D., is Director of Nutrition at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).