The Senate is expected to vote soon on the National Uniformity for Food Act (S. 3128), a bill that could wipe out an estimated 200 state and local food safety and labeling laws, including shellfish and milk safety laws, restaurant safety laws, and carcinogen and lead warning labels. The bill will eliminate these innovative state laws that protect consumers in favor of a “uniform” lowest common denominator of existing federal food laws. The legislation already passed in the House in March, with 94% of Republicans and 36% of Democrats supporting it.
    Consumer groups are strongly opposed to the bill because they worry that it would take away a key avenue, state action, for raising food safety standards. State action has in fact required food corporations to amend their practices, so that they wouldn’t have to create separate packages for different states.
    Consumers Union says: “States have led the way in requiring food labeling laws to inform consumers of potentially dangerous substances in food, which ensures that consumers have the information they need to make informed choices about what to eat. For example, California’s Proposition 65, which (the legislation) would overturn, requires labels on products containing substances at levels that pose a significant risk of causing cancer or birth defects. Laws like Proposition 65 have created a market incentive to keep dangerous substances out of the nation’s food supply, ultimately making us all better off.”