New U.S. law on food safety labels causes controversy

Mar 1 2006

If a new bill on the labeling of food becomes law in the U.S. as many as 200 state food-safety laws may be negated.

The bill about to be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives would require nationwide standardisation on food labels.

Advocates for the bill say a uniform standard is preferable to food safety warnings and labeling rules that can vary state by state.

They believe consumers in every state deserve consistent warnings.

But others believe the bill will prohibit every kind of warning a state might require, even if it's not on the label and will obliterate many state laws unless they apply to a specific material in a product.

According to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, whose members regulate parts of the food chain, the bill could interfere with the inspection of food plants and food safety investigations.

A similar warning has been issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

However business groups who support the bill believe it will lead to the harmonization of state laws on food adulteration and food warnings and say no existing state law would be preempted without review by the Food and Drug Administration.

Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office is unclear on how far the bill will go.

About 200 state laws will probably be affected and the government expects to spend an estimated $100 million responding to requests to set tougher rules