To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide restrictions on the use of carbon monoxide in meat, poultry, and seafood, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Carbon Monoxide Treated Meat, 
Poultry, and Seafood Safe Handling, Labeling, and Consumer Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) It is well documented in the published literature that 
        consumers rely heavily on color to evaluate the freshness of 
        meat, poultry and seafood products.
            (2) The Secretary of Health and Human Services has accepted 
        the use of carbon monoxide in modified atmosphere packaging for 
        fresh beef and pork to help maintain the characteristic red 
        color of fresh meat.
            (3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services has allowed 
        the use of carbon monoxide under conditions that affect the 
        color of case-ready fresh cuts of poultry and ground poultry.
            (4) The Secretary of Health and Human Services has accepted 
        the use of carbon monoxide for use on raw tuna, before it is 
        frozen, to preserve its taste, aroma, texture, and color.
            (5) Carbon monoxide reacts with myoglobin in fresh meat, 
        poultry, and seafood, to form carboxymyoglobin that simulates 
        the color that consumers associate with freshness and safety in 
        fresh meat, poultry and seafood.
            (6) The color imparted by carbon monoxide persists in meat, 
        poultry and seafood packaged with carbon monoxide regardless of 
        the age of the meat, poultry, or seafood, its microbial count, 
        or whether it has been exposed to temperature abuse, and the 
        browning consumers have come to associate with meat, poultry or 
        seafood that may not be fit to consume will not occur.
            (7) Congressional investigators recently reported that at 
        the port of San Francisco, California, a significant proportion 
        of the seafood products offered for import have been treated 
        with carbon monoxide to affect the color so as to give the 
        appearance of freshness, yet twenty percent of the carbon 
        monoxide-treated seafood has been refused entry as decomposed.
            (8) It is well documented in the published literature that 
        ideal temperature control is not consistently maintained in the 
        course of distribution, storage, and retail and consumer 
        handling of fresh meat, poultry, and seafood products, and that 
        serious microbial stability problems exist because of the 
        frequency of temperature abuse.
            (9) The use of carbon monoxide under conditions affecting 
        the color of meat, poultry, and seafood products is not 
        currently required to be labeled with adequate information and 
        warnings such that consumers have no way of knowing that they 
        cannot rely on color to judge the freshness and safety of meat, 
        poultry, and seafood products packaged with carbon monoxide.
            (10) Date labeling is not adequate to overcome the loss to 
        consumers of color as a key freshness and safety indicator, and 
        such date labeling becomes irrelevant once meat, poultry, or 
        seafood has been subjected to temperature abuse or frozen and 
        subsequently defrosted.
            (11) The amendments made by this Act are necessary to 
        prevent consumer deception and serious risks to the public 
        health from foodborne illness that may occur if consumers 
        purchase and consume meat, poultry, or seafood products that 
        have become spoiled or otherwise unfit for consumption, where 
        consumers were led to think the meat, poultry, or seafood was 
        fresh and safe based upon its color. The amendments will 
        benefit in particular the elderly and other vulnerable 
        subpopulations whose sense of smell may be compromised and who 
        cannot rely on odor as an indicator of spoilage, and others who 
        may be particularly susceptible to illness from consumption of 
        meat, poultry, or seafood products that have spoiled.

SEC. 3. LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR MEAT, POULTRY PRODUCTS, AND SEAFOOD 
              THAT CONTAIN CARBON MONOXIDE.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (t) of section 201 of the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(t)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) In the case of food that is meat within the meaning 
        of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, a poultry product within 
        the meaning of the Poultry Products Inspection Act, or seafood 
        (including all fresh or saltwater finfish, molluscan shellfish, 
        crustaceans, and other forms of aquatic animal life) intended 
        for human consumption as food within the meaning of section 
        201(f) of this Act (referred to collectively in this subsection 
        as `seafood'), the term `color additive' shall include carbon 
        monoxide under conditions of use that may impart, maintain, 
        preserve, stabilize, fix, or otherwise affect the color of 
        fresh meat, poultry products, or seafood, unless the label of 
        such food bears, prominently and conspicuously in such place 
        and in such manner as to render it likely to be read and 
        understood by the ordinary person, the following statement to 
        prevent consumer deception and serious risks to the public 
        health: `SAFETY NOTICE: Carbon monoxide has been used to 
        preserve the color of this product. Do not rely on color or the 
        ``use or freeze by'' date alone to judge the freshness or 
        safety of the product. Discard any product with an unpleasant 
        odor, slime, or a bulging package.'''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to food labeled on or after the date that is 30 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY.

    If, not earlier than five years after the effective date of section 
3 of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services finds, based 
on competent and reliable scientific evidence, that the statement 
prescribed in section 201(t)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act is no longer required to prevent consumer deception and other 
harms, then the Secretary is authorized to issue regulations 
establishing alternative labeling requirements that are shown to be 
adequate and effective in preventing consumer deception and other harms 
related to the conditions of use of carbon monoxide, including with 
respect to preventing any consumer deception or other harm that may 
result from the actual conditions of carbon monoxide use and its 
potential to impart a persistent color to meat, poultry products, or 
seafood described in such section through a reaction with natural 
pigment.

Summary: Carbon Monoxide Treated Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Safe Handling, Labeling, and Consumer Protection Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to make changes to the definition of "color additive" to include carbon monoxide that may impart, maintain, preserve, stabilize, fix, or otherwise affect the color of fresh meat, poultry products, or seafood, unless the label of such food bears, prominently and conspicuously, a specified statement that advises consumers: (1) that carbon monoxide has been used to preserve the color of the product; (2) not to rely on the color or the "use or freeze by" date alone to judge the freshness or safety of the product; and (3) to discard any product with an unpleasant odor, slime, or a bulging package.

Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish alternative labeling requirements, not earlier than five years after the effective date of this Act, if: (1) such statement is no longer required to prevent consumer deception and other harms; and (2) such alternative requirements are shown to be adequate and effective in preventing consumer deception and other harms related to the conditions of use of carbon monoxide.