I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5514

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary

of Health and Human Services to establish a tolerance for the presence

of methyl mercury in seafood, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 19, 2000

Mr. PALLONE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to

require the Secretary of Health and Human Services

to establish a tolerance for the presence of methyl mercury in seafood, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Seafood Safety and

5 Mercury Screening Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT OF ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLER2 ANCE FOR METHYL MERCURY IN SEAFOOD.

3 Chapter IV of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic

4 Act (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended—

5 (1) in section 402(a)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘meth6 yl mercury in seafood,’’ after ‘‘food additive,’’;

7 (2) in section 402(a)(2), by inserting after ‘‘sec8 tion 512; or’’ the following: ‘‘(D) if it is seafood that

9 bears or contains methyl mercury that is unsafe

10 within the meaning of section 406A(a); or’’; and

11 (3) by inserting after section 406 the following

12 section:

13 ‘‘TOLERANCE FOR METHYL MERCURY IN SEAFOOD

14 ‘‘SEC. 406A. (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one

15 year after the date of the enactment of the Seafood Safety

16 and Mercury Screening Act of 2000, the Secretary shall

17 by regulation establish a tolerance for the presence of

18 methyl mercury in seafood, which shall be based on a sci19 entific analysis of the health risks attributable to such

20 substance. Any seafood containing methyl mercury shall

21 be deemed unsafe for purposes of section 402(a)(2)(D)

22 unless the quantity of such substance is within the limits

23 of the tolerance.

24 ‘‘(b) STANDARD.—

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure

26 that the tolerance under subsection (a) is safe, and
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1 shall modify or revoke the tolerance if the Secretary

2 determines that it is not safe.

3 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF SAFETY.—As used in

4 this section, the term ‘safe’, with respect to a toler5 ance for methyl mercury in seafood, means that the

6 Secretary has determined that there is a reasonable

7 certainty that no harm will result from aggregate ex8 posure to methyl mercury, including all anticipated

9 dietary exposures and all other exposures for which

10 there is reliable information.

11 ‘‘(c) PREGNANT WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHIL12 DREN.—In establishing or modifying a tolerance under

13 subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that there is a

14 reasonable certainty that no harm will result to pregnant

15 women, infants, and children from aggregate exposure to

16 methyl mercury.

17 ‘‘(d) SAMPLING SYSTEM.—Not later than 18 months

18 after the date of the enactment of the Seafood Safety and

19 Mercury Screening Act of 2000, the Secretary, after con20 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall establish

21 a system for the ongoing collection and analysis of samples

22 of seafood to determine the extent of compliance with the

23 tolerance under subsection (a). Such system shall provide

24 statistically valid monitoring, including market-basket

25 studies, with respect to such compliance.
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1 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ADVISORY SYSTEM.—

2 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary, in

3 cooperation with private and public organizations,

4 including the cooperative extension services and ap5 propriate State entities, shall design and implement

6 a national public education program regarding the

7 presence of methyl mercury in seafood. The program

8 shall provide—

9 ‘‘(A) information to the public regarding

10 Federal standards and good practice require11 ments and promotion of public awareness un12 derstanding and acceptance of such standards

13 and requirements;

14 ‘‘(B) information to health professionals so

15 that they may improve diagnosis and treatment

16 of mercury-related illness and advise individuals

17 whose health conditions place them in par18 ticular risk; and

19 ‘‘(C) such other information or advice to

20 consumers and other persons as the Secretary

21 determines will promote the purposes of this

22 section.

23 ‘‘(2) HEALTH ADVISORIES.—The Secretary, in

24 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and

25 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
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1 Agency, shall work with the States and other appro2 priate entities to—

3 ‘‘(A) develop and distribute regional and

4 national advisories concerning the presence of

5 methyl mercury in seafood.;

6 ‘‘(B) develop standardized formats for

7 written and broadcast advisories regarding

8 methyl mercury in seafood; and

9 ‘‘(C) incorporate State and local advisories

10 into the national public education program re11 quired in paragraph (1).’’.

12 SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF NATIONAL ACAD13 EMY OF SCIENCES.

14 In carrying out section 406A of the Federal Food,

15 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (as added by the amendment

16 made by section 2 of this Act), the Secretary of Health

17 and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of

18 Food and Drugs, shall consider the findings made by the

19 National Academy of Sciences regarding the Environ20 mental Protection Agency’s recommended level for methyl

21 mercury exposure and the presence of methyl mercury in

22 seafood, as such findings are described in the report issued

23 by such Academy in July 2000.
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1 SEC. 4. REPORT.

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human

4 Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and

5 Drugs, shall submit to the Congress a report on the

6 progress of the Secretary in establishing the tolerance re7 quired by the amendments made by section 2. The report

8 shall include a description of the research that has been

9 conducted with respect to the tolerance.

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