U.S. Senators Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have spearheaded a bill (S. 230) that would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prevent the approval of genetically engineered (GE) fish. Companion legislation (S. 229) would require labeling of any genetically engineered fish should such fish get approved. Noting that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a proposal by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc., to produce GE salmon as the first such food hybrid safe for human consumption, the senators reintroduced legislation they co-sponsored in the last congressional session in hopes of implementing a quick ban of GE fish. Calling GE fish “Frankenfish ” that is “risky, unprecedented and unnecessary,” Begich said in a statement that such fish “threatens our wild stocks, their habitat, our food safety, and would bring economic harm to Alaska’s wild salmon fishermen.” Citing strong opposition to GE salmon, Begich added that “it…
Category Archives Issue 380
Representative José Serrano (D-N.Y.) recently introduced legislation (H.R. 254) that would amend several laws to require that consumers “receive notification regarding food products produced from crops, livestock, or poultry raised on land on which sewage sludge was applied.” Titled “Sewage Sludge in Food Production Consumer Notification Act,” the proposal would consider food to be adulterated if it is produced on land to which sewage sludge has been applied or is derived from poultry or livestock raised on or fed with feed produced on such land. It provides several exceptions, including if the sewage sludge has been applied more than one year before the food was produced or if the food is appropriately labeled. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Agriculture.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has renewed his quest to increase the sentences prosecutors can seek to impose on those who knowingly sell tainted food products. He has reintroduced the Food Safety Accountability Act (S. 216) and promises to schedule hearings in the near future before the Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. While the proposal passed unanimously out of that committee in September 2010, Leahy was unable to attach it to the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, approved during the lame duck session at the close of the year. With five Democratic co-sponsors, the bill would allow prison sentences up to 10 years for the most egregious food safety violators. Referring to the nationwide Salmonella outbreak and recall involving an Iowa egg producer with a history of violations, Leahy said when he introduced the bill, “It is clear that fines are not enough to protect the public and effectively…
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