I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4383
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
AUGUST 3, 1998
Mr. BURR of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. UPTON, Mr.
GANSKE, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. TOWNS, and Mr. STRICKLAND) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Com-
merce
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 1998’’.
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 follow-
ing 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 in any manner, such as through
a label, labeling, poster, public notice, advertis-
ing, or any other means of communication; and
‘‘(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.
‘‘(b) EXEMPTIONS AND NATIONAL STANDARDS.—
‘‘(1) EXEMPTIONS.—Any State may petition
the Secretary to provide by regulation, after provid-
ing notice and an opportunity for written and oral
presentation of views, an exemption from subsection
(a) for a requirement of the State or a political sub-
division 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, 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.
‘‘(B) TIME
PERIODS
FOR
ACTION.—Not
later than 60 days after the end of the period
for public comment, the Secretary shall take ac-
tion on the petition. If the Secretary is unable
to take action on the petition during the 60-day
period, the Secretary shall inform the peti-
tioner, in writing, the reasons that taking the
action is not possible, the date by which the ac-
tion will be taken, and the action that will be
taken or is likely to be taken. In every case, the
Secretary shall take action on the petition not
later than 120 days after the end of the period
for public comment.
‘‘(4) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—The failure of the
Secretary to comply with any requirement of this
subsection shall constitute final agency action for
‘‘(2) ACTION ON PETITION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
take action on any petition submitted under
paragraph (1)(D) not later than 7 days after
the petition is received.
‘‘(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.
‘‘(d) AFFECT ON PRODUCT LIABILITY LAW.—Noth-
ing in this section shall be construed to modify or other-
wise affect the product liability law of any State.
‘‘(e) NO AFFECT 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.
‘‘(f) NO AFFECT 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 freshness dating, open date
labeling, grade labeling, a State inspection stamp, reli-
gious dietary labeling, organic or natural designation, re-
turnable bottle labeling, unit pricing, or a statement of
origin.’’.
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