Democrats Wrangle over Fate of Food Safety Bill
Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.) recently sent a public letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), blaming her pursuit of a bisphenol A (BPA) ban for stalling the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510). Feinstein has apparently sought to include “controversial language” in the bill that would prohibit BPA in food and beverage packaging. According to Dingell, “recent press accounts” have suggested that Feinstein’s stance has endangered the fate of the legislation, which would grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority to monitor the national food supply and enforce regulations.
Other food safety advocates such as Safe Table Our Priority have reportedly joined Dingell in asking Feinstein to drop her agenda. Although Dingell noted the ongoing disagreement over BPA’s safety, he nevertheless urged his fellow lawmaker to negotiate with industry interests. “It would be calamitous if a bill to protect American consumers from unsafe food cannot become law this year because of controversy over a single point,” wrote Dingell, who authored a similar measure hat passed the House in July 2009.
Meanwhile, Feinstein has publicly responded to Dingell by vowing to craft a workable compromise or introduce an amendment on the Senate floor. “I believe that we need legislation to protect consumers, especially babies and toddlers, from harmful chemicals,” she was quoted as saying. “BPA is a chemical widely used in the production of certain plastics and has been linked to negative health problems, including brain and behavioral disorders, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The Food Safety Bill is the logical place for this legislation, but special interests are fighting to obstruct any legislation to ban BPA from consumer products.” See Law360.com and The Washington Post, July 20, 2010.
