A bill to direct an 18 month review and evaluation of all available information respecting the toxicity and carcinogenicity of food additives, including information respecting the ability to predict the effect on humans of food additives found to cause cancer in animals and whether there should be a weighing of risks and benefits in making regulatory decisions respecting such additives; to prohibit the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from taking certain action restricting the continued use of saccharin as a food, drug, and cosmetic for 18 months; and to authorize the Secretary during those 18 months to require, in retail stores and in advertising, warning notices respecting the potential health risks presented by the use of saccharin.

Summary

Directs the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to conduct a study to assess (1) current technical capabilities to predict the toxic or carcinogenic effect on humans of substances which have induced cancer in animals; (2) public health benefits and risks of food containing such substances; (3) existing means of evaluating such benefits and risks, and the validity of such analysis; (4) instances in which restrictions on such substances do not accord with benefit-risk analysis; and (5) the relationship between Federal regulatory policies concerning the use of such substances for food and nonfood purposes. Directs the Secretary to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, or other public or private nonprofit organizations, to conduct the study. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of saccharin and other nonnutritive sweeteners to determine (1) any impurities in saccharin; (2) the toxic and carcinogenic effects of such impurities; and (3) the health benefits of saccharin and other nonnutritive sweeteners. Requires the Secretary to report to the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce and to the Senate Committee on Human Resources (1) the results of the saccharin study within one year; and (2) the results of the food additives study within 18 months. Prohibits the Secretary from restricting (except for labeling requirements allowed under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) the sale or distribution of saccharin, or any food, drug, or cosmetic containing saccharin for 18 months. Authorizes the Secretary to promulgate regulations requiring (1) retail establishments where saccharin, or any drug, food, or cosmetic containing saccharin, is sold to display prominently, during the 18 month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, a notice of saccharin's possible health risks; and (2) advertising (printed or electronic) of such saccharin products to contain a statement of the possible health risks of saccharin.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

2 official files

• Reported to House with amendment(s)

  summary · EN · 3 October 1977

  Open at official source

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 25 July 1977

  Open at official source

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.