Battle opens on food labeling proposal Lawmakers butt heads over plan to scrap tough state laws in favor of federal rules Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Friday, March 3, 2006
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Washington -- Federal lawmakers on Thursday sparred over a bill to pre-empt all state food safety labeling laws that are tougher than federal rules, including California's Proposition 65, which requires food manufacturers to list any cancer- or birth-defect-causing substances in their products.
The House put off a vote on the bill until next week after House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-San Dimas (Los Angeles County), concluded that lawmakers could not finish debate before many left for a post-Hurricane Katrina visit to the Gulf Coast.
But the controversy over the food labeling bill appears to be growing. A bipartisan group of 37 state attorneys general, including California's Bill Lockyer, sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday warning that the measure could undermine state's rights and consumer protections.
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