II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 821 

To establish requirements with respect to bisphenol A. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2015 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish requirements with respect to bisphenol A. 

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 ‘‘BPA in Food Pack5 aging Right to Know Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO BISPHENOL A. 

7 (a) REGULATION OF CONTAINERS COMPOSED OF

8 BISPHENOL A.— 

9 (1) SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF PRODUCTS COM10 POSED OF BPA.—Not later than 180 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 


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1 Health and Human Services (referred to in this Act 

2 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall issue a revised safety as3 sessment for food containers composed, in whole or 

4 in part, of bisphenol A, taking into consideration dif5 ferent types of such food containers and the use of 

6 such food containers with respect to different foods, 

7 as appropriate. 

8 (2) SAFETY STANDARD.—Through the safety 

9 assessment described in paragraph (1), and taking 

10 into consideration the requirements of section 409 of 

11 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

12 U.S.C. 348) and section 170.3(i) of title 21, Code of 

13 Federal Regulations, the Secretary shall determine 

14 whether there is a reasonable certainty that no harm 

15 will result from aggregate exposure to bisphenol A 

16 through food containers or other items composed, in 

17 whole or in part, of bisphenol A, taking into consid18 eration potential adverse effects from low dose expo19 sure, and the effects of exposure on vulnerable popu20 lations, including pregnant women, infants, children, 

21 the elderly, and populations with high exposure to 

22 bisphenol A, including workers who are exposed 

23 through production practices or handling of final 

24 products. 


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1 (3) APPLICATION OF SAFETY STANDARD TO AL2 TERNATIVES.—The Secretary shall use the safety 

3 standard described in paragraph (2) to evaluate the 

4 proposed uses of alternatives to bisphenol A. 

5 (b) CONTAINER LABELING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Federal 

7 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(z) If its container is composed, in whole or in part, 

10 of bisphenol A, unless the label includes the following 

11 statement: ‘This food packaging contains BPA, an endo12 crine-disrupting chemical, according to the National Insti13 tutes of Health.’.’’. 

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

15 by paragraph (1) shall take effect 180 days after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section (or 

18 the amendments made by this section) shall affect the 

19 right of a State, political subdivision of a State, or Indian 

20 tribe to adopt or enforce any regulation, requirement, li21 ability, or standard of performance that is more stringent 

22 than a regulation, requirement, liability, or standard of 

23 performance under this section or that— 

24 (1) applies to a product category not described 

25 in this section; or 


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1 (2) requires the provision of a warning of risk, 

2 illness, or injury associated with the use of food con3 tainers composed, in whole or in part, of bisphenol 

4 A. 

5 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘container’’ includes the lining of 

7 a container; and 

8 (2) the term ‘‘food’’ has the meaning given that 

9 term in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

10 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). 

Æ 


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