Doris Matsui: “warnings of mercury levels in fish, the safety of our children's milk, birth defect warnings, reducing lead in calcium…”

“warnings of mercury levels in fish, the safety of our children's milk, birth defect warnings, reducing lead in calcium supplements, cans, and wine bottle caps, if we pass H. Res. 702, the rule governing the National Food Uniformity Act, and ultimately the underlying legislation, these are but a few of the food safety laws that would be preempted. We would be placing at even greater risk the health of millions of Americans, our children, and pregnant women. Parents would have less information about the harm their children would come to because of a simple meal. This is the exact opposite of what we should be doing. Information about the health implications of what we are assuming is abundant, and we should be an ally in helping parents to protect their children. With this legislation, Federal food safety regulations would supplant State food safety laws. Even though our food safety system has been created to rely upon the States, the FDA will make recommendations on its Web site. But the States need to take this information and determine the best way to inform and protect their residents. There is a reason for this: 80 percent of the enforcement is at the State and local levels. Let me take one example: mercury levels. Because of the implications of mercury in my home State of California, we have a program to place in-store notices about mercury levels.…”