FDA gets a vote of confidence from NCSL

The bipartisan voice for the nation’s state legislatures has expressed new confidence in the federal Food and Drug Administration for food safety. It is supporting adequate Congressional funding for FDA’s new Human Food program.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), now led by Utah Senate President Pro Temp Wayne Harper, Republican,  has approved a policy resolution reaffirming the FDA’s authority as a federal body to regulate food safety nationwide.

The policy resolution is an apparent response to state bills during the past two legislative seasons that sought to ban certain food additives approved nationally by the FDA. The most prominent of these have come in California. The California Legislature in 2023 passed and the governor signed a law banning brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide and Red dye No. 3 from food. 

Under that new law, it will be illegal in California after Jan. 1, 2027, to manufacture, sell, deliver, distribute, hold, or offer for sale any food product for human consumption that contains any of the four products.

This year, The California Assembly has put the state’s $1.6 billion school lunch program off limits to a list of additives that it views as harmful to children, including Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6, Blue Dye No. 1, Blue Dye No. 2, and Green Dye No. 3, and the food additive titanium dioxide.

While California is often a legislative leader among the states, the campaign to ban certain FDA-approved additives is more of a bust than a boom across the other states. Food industry sources say bills to ban additives have been rejected by New York, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington and West Virginia.

 A Kentucky resolution acknowledges that food safety decisions should be based on facts and driven by those with regulatory expertise. 

NCSL is the preeminent organization representing state legislators nationwide, so its vote to reaffirm the FDA’s authority as a federal body to regulate food safety nationwide is significant.

The resolution also urges the federal government to fund the Human Foods Program at the FDA to ensure a uniform and science-based food safety system. 

FDA support is actually sought by both those wanting fewer additives in food and by the food industry that does not want the cost and risk of recipe changes. Two nationally known non-governmental organizations, Consumer Reports and the Environmental Working Group, have been working closely with California to catch FDA’s attention.

The NCSL resolution reads as follows:

WHEREAS, a strong food safety system promotes public health and welfare in the U.S., and a uniform, science-based food safety system is critical to ensure product uniformity, integrity, and transparency, and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration plays a vital role in setting national science-based determinations on the safety of food additives and colors in the nation’s food and beverage supply using a risk assessment process and

WHEREAS, the approved reorganization of the FDA and the creation of a unified Human Foods Program will strengthen the agency’s ability to swiftly identify emerging health risks and quickly evaluate ingredient safety in post-market reviews, building on the agency’s recent efforts to remove brominated vegetable oil from the food supply and expand its ongoing assessments of other food and color additives; and

WHEREAS, states play an important role in supporting our national science-based food safety system to maintain uniform access to safe, affordable foods in every state and preserve interstate commerce and

WHEREAS, federal funding for FDA’s reorganization is critical to support public health in the states and the agency’s ongoing efforts to enhance chemical ingredient safety in the food supply that takes into account new scientific information, innovation, and research developments;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) urges the Congress and the Administration to adequately fund the reorganization of the FDA and the creation of a unified Human Foods Program to ensure the agency can meet its anticipated reorganization implementation date of Oct. 1, 2024; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be immediately transmitted to the FDA’s Commissioner, the president of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and all members of Congress.

The NCSL was created by state legislators and legislative staff in 1975. It serves America’s 50 states, commonwealths, territories, and the District of Columbia. Every state legislator and staffer is a member of the organization and has complete access to the latest in bipartisan policy research, training resources, and technical assistance tailored specifically to their needs. 

Utah Republican Wayne Harper previously served as vice president and president-elect for NCSL. He succeeded Rhode Island Democrat House Speaker Pro Temp Brian Patrick Kennedy, who served as the NCSL president from 2023-24. 

NCSL members include the nation’s 7,386 state lawmakers and more than 30,000 legislative staff.

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