The "National Uniformity for Food Act" (H.R. 4167) that would preempt nearly 200 food safety laws and affect state law in all 50 states, passed out of the House on March 8, to ire of consumer advocates. The legislation was introduced by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Ed Towns (D-NY).

The bill, being pitched as a measure to create a uniform set of federal food regulations, would in fact severely limit states' authority to develop safety standards and require warning labels that are not identical to those developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to the State Association of Food and Drug Officials, a group strongly opposed to the legislation, "H.R. 4167 effectively eliminates our nation's biosecurity shield, and will undermine our whole food safety and biosurveillance capability by undermining states' authority to assure food safety."

Consumer groups maintain that, over the years states have carefully developed food safety laws to fill gaps by FDA regulations. H.R. 4167 would sweep aside those improvements and leave consumers in many states at greater risk. While the bill includes a petition process through which states could seek an exemption to address food safety issues unique to their area, critics assert that such a process would create unnecessary, and even dangerous, delays in addressing food safety issues.

For example, states are beginning to address consumer right-to-know provisions, such as the labeling of genetically engineered foods and foods that undergo irradiation. The proposals in H.R. 4167 would have a chilling effect on these and other state efforts aimed at giving consumers informed choices. The legislation could also gut California's Proposition 65, which requires warning labels for products or food that expose consumers to chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects.

Large food manufacturers that have long complained of overly stringent state-level food safety programs, support the legislation, claiming that the current patchwork of federal and state regulations results in increased costs and confusion for both food companies and consumers.

Similar legislation has yet to be introduced in the Senate.