Preventing Harmful Exposure to Phthalates Act
Bill: H.R.4963 | Sponsor: Rep. Lieu, Ted (D-CA)
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Preventing Harmful Exposure to Phthalates Act
This bill prohibits the use of any phthalate chemical as a food contact substance. (A food contact substance is any substance intended for use as a component of materials used in manufacturing, packing, packaging, transporting, or holding food if such use is not intended to have a technical effect in such food.)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must review FDA-regulated products other than food to determine whether use of such products leads to exposure to phthalate chemicals. This review must be publicly available on the website of the Department of Health and Human Services.

To ban the use of ortho-phthalate chemicals as food contact substances.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Harmful Exposure to 
Phthalates Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Prenatal exposures to phthalates can do lasting harm to 
        child brain development and increase children's risks for 
        learning, attention, and behavior disorders.
            (2) Pregnant women's exposures to phthalates, which are 
        known to decrease fetal testosterone, can harm reproductive 
        tract development in male babies which may have lifelong 
        consequences.
            (3) Phthalates that are used in food production materials 
        have been shown to leach into food from plastic equipment, such 
        as tubing used in commercial dairy operations, lid gaskets, 
        food preparation gloves, conveyor belts, and food packaging 
        materials.
            (4) Exposure to phthalates can come from multiple sources 
        simultaneously, including food and food contact substances and 
        other products. Therefore, assessing risks from individual 
        phthalates may underestimate the health risks from exposure to 
        mixtures of phthalates.
            (5) Research shows that women have higher exposure to 
        phthalates found in personal care products than men.
            (6) Studies have shown that Black and Latina women have 
        higher exposure to certain phthalates compared with White 
        women.
            (7) In a nationally representative sample, Black women had 
        higher exposures to a real-world mixture of hormonally active 
        phthalates compared to White women.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF ORTHO-PHTHALATE CHEMICALS AS FOOD CONTACT 
              SUBSTANCES, INCLUDING FOOD PACKAGING MATERIALS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
effective on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act--
            (1) the use of any ortho-phthalate chemical as a food 
        contact substance shall be deemed to be unsafe for the purposes 
        of the application of clause (2)(C) of section 402(a) of the 
        Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 342(a));
            (2) any regulation previously issued under section 409 of 
        such Act (21 U.S.C. 348) prescribing the conditions under which 
        any ortho-phthalate chemical may be safely used as a food 
        contact substance shall have no force or effect; and
            (3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to 
        in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall object to any 
        notification of an intended use of an ortho-phthalate chemical 
        as a food contact substance submitted under section 409(h)(1) 
        of such Act, and may not issue regulations prescribing any 
        conditions under which any ortho-phthalate chemical may be 
        safely used as a food contact substance.
    (b) Alternative Substances.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, beginning on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, in acting in response to any petition under section 409 of 
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 348) to establish 
safety with respect to a food contact substance that the Secretary 
determines to be an alternative to an ortho-phthalate chemical, in 
addition to the criteria under subsection (c) of such section 409, the 
Secretary shall consider potential adverse effects of exposure to the 
substance on vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, infants, 
children, the elderly, and populations with high exposure, including 
workers who are exposed through production practices or handling of 
final products.

SEC. 4. FDA REVIEW OF PRODUCTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) conduct a review of products other than food that is 
        subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration to 
        determine whether such products lead to exposure of the general 
        public to any ortho-phthalate chemical through use of such 
        products; and
            (2) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, issue a report on the findings of such review, to be 
        made available to the public on the website of the Department 
        of Health and Human Services.
    (b) Considerations.--In conducting the review under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall consider disproportionate exposure of products 
containing an ortho-phthalate chemical to members of communities of 
color and the health effects of such exposure to members of such 
communities, including any increased risk of preterm birth, low birth 
weight, or other risks to children's health.
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