In Brief: FDA reform
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
FDA reform: Rep. Scott Klug (R-Wis.), sponsor of the House FDA reform bill on foods (HR 3200), discussed the need to modernize the "zero cancer risk" standard of the Delaney Clause during a May 29 Special Order session on the House floor held by House Commerce/Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael Bilirakis (R-Fla.) and FDA reform sponsors. Referring to a 1995 report by the Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee, which found that reviewers of food additive petitions "requested too much data that was not even used to determine the safety of a food additive," Klug asserted that the report's findings "support the proposed change in HR 3200 from zero risk to a `negligible risk' standard." Klug also reiterated the need to establish national uniform labeling standards in the interests of maintaining "interstate commerce." The House is expected to begin markup of the bill in the first half of June. In the Senate, the committee report on Sen. Nancy Kassebaum's (R-Kan.) FDA reform bill (S 1477) is expected out the week of June 3...