Associated Press
04-21-06
AGs resist food uniformity law
By: Associated Press
DES MOINES, IA - A majority of attorneys general around the nation are asking
lawmakers to oppose the National Uniformity for Food Act, a bill they say would
undercut states' rights and consumer protections.
A letter from 39 attorneys general sent to Congress last month said the proposed
legislation "would strip state governments of an ability to protect their residents
through state laws and regulations relating to the safety of food and food
packaging."
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said food safety has been largely a matter of
state law for more than a century, "and it has served our citizens well."
"Indeed state and local agencies perform more than 80 percent of food safety
work, and there is nothing in our experience or in the public record to show any
added value in requiring uniformity in federal regulations in this area," he said.
Alana Stamas, a field organizer for the nonpartisan Iowa Public Interest
Research Group, said the bill, which has passed in the House, would pre-empt
200 food safety and right-to-know laws around the nation. It would require states
to petition the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to enforce their
laws, she said.
It also would trump Iowa's innovative regulations on milk and restaurant safety
laws, Stamas said.
"Any power grab by Congress would shred this safety net, leaving Iowans
vulnerable and with less information," she said.
The House bill was sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who said in a
March 6 news release that the attorneys general letter contains errors. He said
food production and distribution has actually been an issue of interstate
commerce for many years.
"For the better part of the last 100 years, FDA's role in food safety has been
accepted and supported by consumers and state government," he said.
The states' role in inspections, he said, would not be affected by the bill.
Rogers said the attorneys general also mistakenly say the legislation would have
an impact on state labeling requirements. Most of those, he said, are food
ingredient labeling requirements, and would not be impacted by the bill. It would,
however, regulate warning labels.
"The uniformity in food warnings under the bill will enhance food safety and
public health," he said.
Sam Beattie, a food safety specialist for the Iowa State University
Extension, said many in the food safety industry, including the Association of
Food and Drug Officials, are opposed to the bill because it "would take a lot of
state regulations out of the purview of the state."
"If a state wants to put tighter controls on the foods, the state should be allowed
to do that," he said.
Beattie said it could take up to 18 months before the FDA would make a decision
on individual state petitions, which would then have to be adopted nationwide. He
called that system "somewhat archaic."
"If you're looking at the safety of oysters ... harvested off your coast, here in
Iowa, does that really pertain to us?" he said. "It may not sit very well in certain
cases."