I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2129
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for uniform
food safety warning notification requirements, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 10, 1999
Mr. BURR of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. HALL of
Texas, Mr. UPTON, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. EHRLICH, Mr. TOWNS, Mr.
SHADEGG, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. FORD, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr.
WYNN, and Mr. BLUNT) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to
provide for uniform food safety warning notification re-
quirements, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Uniformity
for Food Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL UNIFORMITY FOR FOOD.
(a) NATIONAL UNIFORMITY.—Section 403A(a) of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343–
1(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph
(4);
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and
inserting a comma; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) any requirement for the labeling of food
described in section 403(j), or 403(s), that is not
identical to the requirement of such section, or
‘‘(7) any requirement for a food described in
section 402(a)(1), 402(a)(2), 402(a)(6), 402(a)(7),
402(c), 402(f), 402(g), 404, 406, 408, 409, 512, or
721(a), that is not identical to the requirement of
such section.’’.
(b) UNIFORMITY IN FOOD SAFETY WARNING NOTI-
FICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Chapter IV of such Act (21
U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended—
(1) by redesignating sections 403B and 403C
as sections 403C and 403D, respectively; and
(2) by inserting after section 403A the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘SEC. 403B. UNIFORMITY IN FOOD SAFETY WARNING NOTI-
FICATION REQUIREMENTS.
‘‘(a) UNIFORMITY REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
sections (b) and (c), no State or political subdivision
of a State may, directly or indirectly, establish or
continue in effect under any authority any notifica-
tion requirement for a food that provides for a warn-
ing concerning the safety of the food, or any compo-
nent or package of the food, unless such a notifica-
tion requirement has been prescribed under the au-
thority of this Act and the State or political subdivi-
sion notification requirement is identical to the noti-
fication requirement prescribed under the authority
of this Act.
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of paragraph
(1)—
‘‘(A) the term ‘notification requirement’ in-
cludes any mandatory disclosure requirement
relating to the dissemination of information
about a food by a manufacturer or distributor
of a food in any manner, such as through a
label, labeling, poster, public notice, advertising,
or any other means of communication, but not
relating to notification, disclosure, or other dis-
semination of information by a State or political
subdivision;
‘‘(B) the term ‘warning’, used with respect
to a food, means any statement, vignette, or
other representation that indicates, directly or
by implication, that the food presents or may
present a hazard to health or safety; and
‘‘(C) a reference to a notification require-
ment that provides for a warning shall not be
construed to refer to any requirement or prohi-
bition relating to food safety that does not in-
volve a notification requirement.
‘‘(b) EXEMPTIONS AND NATIONAL STANDARDS.—
‘‘(1) EXEMPTIONS.—Any State may petition
the Secretary to provide by regulation, after pro-
viding notice and an opportunity for written and
oral presentation of views during a public comment
period described in paragraph (3), an exemption
from paragraph (6) or (7) of section 403A(a) or
subsection (a), for a requirement of the State or a
political subdivision of the State. The Secretary may
provide such an exemption, under such conditions as
the Secretary may impose, for such a requirement
that—
‘‘(A) protects an important public interest
that would otherwise be unprotected, in the ab-
sence of the exemption;
‘‘(B) would not cause any food to be in
violation of any applicable requirement or prohi-
bition under Federal law; and
‘‘(C) would not unduly burden interstate
commerce, balancing the importance of the pub-
lic interest of the State or political subdivision
against the impact on interstate commerce.
‘‘(2) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—Any State may
petition the Secretary to establish by regulation,
after providing notice and an opportunity for written
and oral presentation of views during a public com-
ment period described in paragraph (3), a national
standard respecting any requirement under this Act
or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (15 U.S.C.
1451 et seq.) relating to the regulation of a food.
‘‘(3) ACTION ON PETITIONS.—
‘‘(A) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 30
days after receipt of any petition under para-
graph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall publish
such petition in the Federal Register for public
comment during a period specified by the Sec-
retary.
‘‘(A) the requirement is needed to address
an imminent hazard to health that is likely to
result in serious adverse health consequences or
death;
‘‘(B) the State has informed the Secretary
about the matter involved and the Secretary
has not initiated enforcement or other regu-
latory action with respect to the matter;
‘‘(C) a petition is submitted by the State
under subsection (b) for an exemption or na-
tional standard relating to the requirement not
later than the date that the State establishes
the requirement under this subsection; and
‘‘(D) the State institutes enforcement ac-
tion with respect to the matter in compliance
with State law following submission of such pe-
tition.
‘‘(2) ACTION ON PETITION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
take action on any petition submitted under
paragraph (1)(C) not later than 7 days after
the petition is received, notwithstanding sub-
section (b)(3)(B) and the public comment re-
quirements of subsection (b).
‘‘(B) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—The failure of
the Secretary to comply with the requirement
described in subparagraph (A) shall constitute
final agency action for purposes of judicial re-
view. If the court conducting the review deter-
mines that the Secretary has failed to comply
with the requirement, the court shall order the
Secretary to comply within a period determined
to be appropriate by the court.
‘‘(3) DURATION.—If a State establishes a re-
quirement in accordance with paragraph (1), the re-
quirement may remain in effect until the Secretary
acts on a petition submitted under paragraph
(1)(C).
‘‘(d) NO EFFECT ON PRODUCT LIABILITY LAW.—
Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify or
otherwise affect the product liability law of any State.
‘‘(e) NO EFFECT ON IDENTICAL LAW.—Nothing in
this section or section 403A relating to a food shall be
construed to prevent a State or political subdivision of a
State from establishing, enforcing, or continuing in effect
a requirement that is identical to a requirement of this
Act, whether or not the Secretary has promulgated a regu-
lation or issued a policy statement relating to the require-
ment.
‘‘(f) NO EFFECT ON CERTAIN STATE LAW.—Nothing
in this section or section 403A relating to a food shall
be construed to prevent a State or political subdivision of
a State from establishing, enforcing, or continuing in ef-
fect a requirement relating to—
‘‘(1) freshness dating, open date labeling, grade
labeling, a State inspection stamp, religious dietary
labeling, organic or natural designation, returnable
bottle labeling, unit pricing, or a statement of geo-
graphic origin; or
‘‘(2) a consumer advisory relating to food sani-
tation that is imposed on a food service establish-
ment, or that is recommended by the Secretary,
under part 3–6 of the Food Code issued by the Food
and Drug Administration and referred to in the no-
tice published at 64 Fed. Reg. 8576 (1999) (or any
corresponding similar provision of such a Code).’’.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 403A(b) of
such Act (21 U.S.C. 343–1(b)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘The requirements of paragraphs (3) and (4) of section
403B(b) shall apply to any such petition, in the same
manner and to the same extent as the requirements apply
to a petition described in section 403B(b).’’.
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