Bill Text: NJ SR33 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges enactment of "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015."
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-16 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee [SR33 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-SR33-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Urges enactment of "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution urging the enactment of the federal "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015."
Whereas, Consumers are interested and invested in knowing information about the foods they eat every day, from the source or origin of the food to the nutritional facts and composition of the food; and
Whereas, Certain foods and products include "genetically engineered organisms," commonly referred to as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are plants containing genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques rather than through the use of conventional breeding techniques; and
Whereas, In March 2015, Representative Pompeo and many other members of Congress introduced H.R. 1599, the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015"; and
Whereas, In July 2015, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599 with bipartisan support, and the bill awaits consideration by the Senate; and
Whereas, The "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015" provides that the United States Food and Drug Administration may require a GMO food to have a label that informs consumers of a material difference between the GMO food and a comparable food if the disclosure is necessary to protect public health and safety or to prevent the label from being false or misleading; and
Whereas, Enactment of the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015" would avert inconsistency resulting from a patchwork of state labeling laws, while providing clarity and transparency in food labeling, supporting innovation, and keeping food affordable; and
Whereas, Under the bill, the food safety role of the United States Food and Drug Administration would be preserved and affirmed and the general public's appetite for knowing the contents of their food would be satiated; and
Whereas, It is the intent of the sponsors of the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015" to ensure that America's farmers will continue to be able to innovate and improve the quality and quantity of their crops and provide nutritious, affordable food on families' tables both in the United States and across the world; and
Whereas, It is in the public interest, of the citizens of the State of New Jersey and this great nation, to improve consumer food
product awareness through accurate, standardized, and transparent labeling and to support the important work of farmers; now, therefore,
Be It
Resolved by the Senate of the State of New
Jersey:
1. The United States Congress is respectfully urged to support and pass, and the President to sign into law, H.R. 1599 of 2015, the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015."
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the President and Vice President of the United States of America, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, every sponsor of H.R. 1599 of 2015, the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015," and every member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges Congress to pass, and the President to sign into law, the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015."
Certain foods and products include "genetically engineered organisms," commonly referred to as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are plants containing genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant DNA techniques rather than through the use of conventional breeding techniques.
The "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015," H.R.1599, was introduced in March 2015 by Representative Pompeo and passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives in July 2015. Under the bill, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may require a GMO food to have a label that informs consumers of a material difference between the GMO food and a comparable food if the disclosure is necessary to protect public health and safety or to prevent the label from being false or misleading; the use of a GMO would not, by itself, constitute a material difference.
Enactment of H.R. 1599 would avert inconsistency resulting from a patchwork of state labeling laws, while providing clarity and transparency in food labeling, supporting innovation, and keeping food affordable. Additionally, H.R. 1599 would preserve and affirm the food safety role of the FDA.
