I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1346

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

health and provide to consumers food that is safe, unadulterated, and

honestly presented.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 25, 1999

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

safeguard public health and provide to consumers food

that is safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented.

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, REFERENCE, AND TABLE OF

4 CONTENTS.

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

6 ‘‘National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act’’.

7 (b) REFERENCE.—Except as otherwise specified,

8 whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms

9 of an amendment to a section or other provision, the ref-
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1 erence shall be considered to be made to that section or

2 other provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic

3 Act (21 U.S.C. 321 et seq.).

4 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is

5 as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title, reference, and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Labeling of raw or partially cooked foods and unpasteurized juice.

Sec. 3. Sale and labeling of frozen fish and shellfish.

Sec. 4. Sale of raw eggs.

Sec. 5. Statement of origin.

Sec. 6. Freshness date.

Sec. 7. Food labeled as natural.

Sec. 8. Labeling of kosher and kosher-style foods.

Sec. 9. Unit pricing.

Sec. 10. Grades for farm products.

Sec. 11. Regulations.

6 SEC. 2. LABELING OF RAW OR PARTIALLY COOKED FOODS

7 AND UNPASTEURIZED JUICE.

8 Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by adding

9 at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(t)(1) Unless the label or labeling of raw or partially

11 cooked eggs, fish, milk, dairy products, shellfish, or

12 unpasteurized juice offered in a ready-to-eat form as a

13 deli, vended, or other item, or the label or labeling of a

14 ready-to-eat food containing as an ingredient raw or par15 tially cooked eggs, fish, milk, dairy products, shellfish, or

16 unpasteurized juice, discloses the increased risk associated

17 with eating such food in raw or partially cooked form.

18 ‘‘(2) Eggs, fish, milk, dairy products, and shellfish

19 routinely served raw or partially cooked, unpasteurized

20 juice, and ready-to-eat foods containing such raw or par-
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1 tially cooked foods or unpasteurized juice as ingredients

2 shall bear the following: This food contains raw or par3 tially cooked eggs, fish, shellfish, or unpasteurized juice.

4 Children, the elderly, pregnant women, or persons with

5 weakened immune systems may experience severe

6 foodborne illness from eating this item.

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

8 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,

9 establish by regulation the labeling requirements of this

10 paragraph.’’.

11 SEC. 3. SALE AND LABELING OF FROZEN FISH AND SHELL12 FISH.

13 Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343), as amended by section

14 2, is amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(u)(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), if

16 it is fish or shellfish that has been frozen unless its label

17 or labeling bears a prominent and conspicuous statement

18 indicating that such product has been frozen.

19 ‘‘(2) This paragraph shall not apply to fish or shell20 fish that has been frozen prior to being smoked, cured,

21 cooked, or subjected to the heat of commercial steriliza22 tion.

23 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

24 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,
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1 establish by regulation the labeling requirements of this

2 paragraph.’’.

3 SEC. 4. SALE OF RAW EGGS.

4 Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by adding

5 at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(v)(1) If it is raw eggs, unless its label or labeling

7 states ‘Children, the elderly, pregnant women, or persons

8 with weakened immune systems may experience severe ill9 ness from eating raw or partially cooked eggs.’

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

11 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,

12 establish by regulation the labeling requirements of this

13 paragraph.’’.

14 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF ORIGIN.

15 Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343), as amended by section

16 4, is amended by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(w)(1) If it is a perishable agricultural commodity

18 as defined in section 1(b)(4) of the Perishable Agricultural

19 Commodities Act of 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499a(b)(1)), unless

20 it bears a label or labeling containing the country of origin

21 of the perishable agricultural commodity.

22 ‘‘(2) If it is a product derived from a perishable agri23 cultural commodity, including juice, frozen juice con24 centrate, fruit butter, preserves and jams, or canned or

25 frozen fruits or vegetables, unless it bears a label or label-
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1 ing containing the country of origin of the perishable agri2 cultural commodity and the product derived from it.

3 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

4 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,

5 establish by regulation the labeling requirements of this

6 paragraph.’’.

7 SEC. 6. FRESHNESS DATE.

8 Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343), as amended by section

9 5, is amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(x)(1) Unless its label or labeling bears the date

11 upon which the food should no longer be sold because of

12 diminution of quality, nutrient availability, or safety. The

13 freshness date shall be stated in terms of the day and

14 month of the year if the food will not be fresh after 3

15 months on the shelf, or in terms of the month and year

16 if the product will be fresh for more than 3 months on

17 the shelf. The phrase ‘use by’ shall precede the date.

18 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

19 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,

20 establish by regulation the means of disclosing the

21 freshness date.’’.

22 SEC. 7. FOOD LABELED AS NATURAL.

23 Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343), as amended by section

24 6, is amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(y)(1) If its label or labeling bears the word ‘nat2 ural’, unless—

3 ‘‘(A) it contains no artificial flavoring, color ad4 ditive, chemical preservative, or any other artificial

5 or synthetic ingredient added after harvesting; and

6 ‘‘(B) it has undergone no processing other than

7 minimal processing, such as the removal of inedible

8 substances or the application of physical processes

9 such as cutting, grinding, drying, homogenizing, or

10 pulping.

11 ‘‘(3) This paragraph shall not apply to the use of the

12 terms ‘natural flavors’ and ‘natural colors’ as approved by

13 the Food and Drug Administration.

14 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

15 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,

16 establish by regulation the labeling requirements of this

17 paragraph.’’.

18 SEC. 8. LABELING OF KOSHER AND KOSHER-STYLE FOODS.

19 Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343), as amended by section

20 7, is amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(z)(1) If it is falsely represented in the food’s label

22 or labeling to be kosher, kosher for Passover, pareve, or

23 as having been prepared in accordance with orthodox Jew24 ish religious standards either by direct statements, orally
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1 or in writing, or by display of the word ‘Kosher’, ‘Kosher

2 for Passover’, or ‘Pareve’; or

3 ‘‘(2) if the food’s label or labeling uses the term ‘Ko4 sher’ in conjunction with the words ‘style’ or ‘type’ or any

5 similar expression which might reasonably be calculated

6 to deceive a reasonable person to believe that a representa7 tion is being made that the food sold is kosher, kosher

8 for Passover, pareve, or prepared in accordance with or9 thodox Jewish religious standards.

10 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

11 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,

12 establish by regulation provisions that implement this

13 paragraph.’’.

14 SEC. 9. UNIT PRICING.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343), as

16 amended by section 8, is amended by adding at the end

17 the following:

18 ‘‘(aa)(1) Unless its label or labeling bears the unit

19 price and the total price of the food as provided in this

20 paragraph.

21 ‘‘(2) As used in this paragraph

22 ‘‘(A) The term ‘unit price’ of food shall mean

23 the price per measure.

24 ‘‘(B) The term ‘price per measure’ shall

25 mean—
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1 ‘‘(i) price per pound for food whose net

2 quantity is expressed in units of weight, except

3 for such food whose net weight is less than 1

4 ounce which shall be expressed as price per

5 ounce if the same unit of measure is used for

6 the same food in all sizes;

7 ‘‘(ii) price per pint or quart for food whose

8 net quantity is stated in fluid ounces, pints,

9 quarts, gallons, or a combination thereof, if the

10 same unit of measure is used for the same food

11 in all sizes sold in the retail establishment; and

12 ‘‘(iii) price per 100 for food whose net

13 quantity is expressed by count, except as other14 wise provided by regulation.

15 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

16 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,

17 establish by regulation a national program of pricing as

18 prescribed by this paragraph.’’.

19 SEC. 10. GRADES FOR FARM PRODUCTS.

20 Section 403 (21 U.S.C. 343), as amended by section

21 9, is amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(bb)(1) Unless it bears a grade, where grading is

23 customary within the industry.

24 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, in accordance with section

25 11 of the National Uniform Food Safety Labeling Act,
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1 establish by regulation a national program of grading for

2 food which is customarily graded.’’.

3 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS.

4 (a)(1) Within 12 months after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human

6 Services shall issue proposed regulations to implement

7 paragraphs (t) and (bb) of section 403 of the Federal

8 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The proposed regulations

9 shall establish format requirements for the label state10 ments mandated by such sections. The required label

11 statements shall appear in easily legible boldface print or

12 type, with upper and lower case letters, and in distinct

13 contrast to other printed or graphic matter. The label

14 statements shall appear in a type size not less than the

15 largest type found on the label, except that used for the

16 brand name, product name, logo, or universal product

17 code, and in any case not less than the type size required

18 for the declaration of net quantity of contents statement

19 as prescribed by regulation printed in 21 C.F.R.

20 101.105(1). All required label statements shall be placed

21 on the information panel, except for the statements re22 quired by paragraphs (w) and (aa) of such section 403,

23 which shall be placed on the principal display panel.

24 (2) Not later than 24 months after the date of enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue final regulations
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1 to implement sections 403(z)–(y) of the Federal Food,

2 Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

3 (b) If the Secretary does not promulgate final regula4 tions under subsection (a)(2) upon the expiration of 24

5 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

6 proposed regulation issued in accordance with subsection

7 (a)(1) shall be considered as the final regulations upon

8 the expiration of such 24 months. There shall be promptly

9 published in the Federal Register notice of the new status

10 of the proposed regulations.

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