Adopted February 3, 2006
HR 4167 is proposed legislation that, on its face, purports to mandate universal labeling in the food
industry. The legislation
contains vague, but nonetheless troublesome language that expands the focus of
the bill far beyond this simple uniform labeling provision. After a
comprehensive legal analysis of this language, done in cooperation with the
Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and numerous state and local food
protection programs, NEHA became actively involved in the response to this
legislative proposal. Central to our concern is the threat that H.R. 4167 will
impose a federal preemption of the statutory and regulatory authority of
state/local food safety and protection programs.
In recognition
of the fact that this bill could have a fundamental negative impact on the food
protection programs in which thousands of environmental health professionals
work, NEHA has been tracking this legislation over both this session and the
past congressional session. Through the NEHA Government Affairs program, we
have worked with congressional staff, and other associations to offer both
comments and amendments to the legislation that would address many of these
concerns. The passage of the bill out of its assigned committee in the US House
of Representatives, in its current form, prompted action by the NEHA Board of
Directors. Below is the text of a letter outlining NEHA’s position on this
legislation. This position has been conveyed to the sponsor of the bill and to
many other members of Congress. We encourage you to review the letter and to
contact your congressional representatives.
Dear Representative _____________
I am writing to express the deep concerns that we have regarding H.R. 4167: "The
National Uniformity for Foods Act of 2005". I
present our concerns on behalf of the Board of Directors and the membership of
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA).
For sixty-nine years, NEHA has been the lead organization to represent the tens of
thousands of environmental health professionals who work in public health
programs throughout our nation. NEHA is a not-for-profit professional society.
We include within our membership public/environmental health professionals who
work at the federal, state and local levels of government and in industry. A
significant portion of our membership practices environmental health in the area
of food safety and protection. These
individuals staff and manage thousands of food safety/protection programs
through out the United States that enforce and assure compliance with both local
and state food safety codes and regulations. These professionals,
more than any other group in our public health system, are responsible on a
daily basis for protecting our citizens from the illness and even death that can
occur from the consumption of unsafe and/or adulterated food.
For almost a century, our members have successfully managed local food protection
programs. One of the major reasons for our success over the years owes to the
meaningful and extensive collaboration we engage in with both federal agencies
(primarily the FDA, USDA, and CDC) and the food service and manufacturing
industries. These collaborations between federal, state, and local agencies
together with the food industry have enabled us to develop these programs beyond
the simple regulatory model that they used to be. For example, our members now
proactively engage the food industry. This has led to more of an educational
approach to improved food safety practices within the United States.
These programs have continually evolved and improved largely because they have had the
autonomy to do so. The autonomy that these programs operate within has also
enabled them to adapt to particular local circumstances that could otherwise
impact their success. This autonomy also affords them the opportunity to balance
nationally recognized standards with the flexibility required in their
respective local jurisdictions. It is the preemption of this local authority,
control and autonomy that is at the heart of our opposition to H.R.4167.
There is no question in our minds that the adoption of this legislation, in its
current form, will destroy the ability of state and local food protection
programs to identify and resolve situations involving adulterated food products.
It will also destroy our ability to tailor these programs to the particular
needs and circumstances of the communities we serve. We are also deeply
concerned that the proposed legislation would remove the ability of local food
safety programs to appropriately respond to a terrorism event involving food. In
fact, we are concerned that local food safety programs would or could be
decimated by the federal program envisioned in this proposed legislation.
The bill purports to establish uniform national food labeling standards. Were that
the only aim or effect of the legislation we would not be taking this position.
H.R. 4167 in our view, and in the view of the Association of Food and Drug
Officials (AFDO) as well as numerous other public health and consumer protection
organizations, goes far beyond this uniform labeling standard. It will impose a
federal preemptive standard that will strip local and state food protection
programs of their statutory authority to remove contaminated foods from the
market place and to regulate food service operations consistent with the
circumstances of particular local communities.
We respectfully suggest that this is bad public health policy. It also represents
an unwarranted, though perhaps unintentional, intrusion into our local and state
food protection programs – which are today responsible for effectively
conducting 80% of the current food safety work being done nationally. Moreover,
these programs are being implemented successfully! Why would we want to
compromise them?
We urge caution before undertaking a congressionally mandated change in a food
safety system that works effectively, is responsive to the nation’s needs and
is in tune with local circumstances and opportunities.
NEHA would be pleased to work with you and your colleagues in addressing and
correcting the deficiencies in this legislation. We look forward to hearing from
you and we appreciate your consideration of our concerns.
Sincerely,
Ron Grimes, RS, MPH, DAAS
President, National Environmental Health Association
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