Pressure is building on Congress to establish a uniform national framework for food ingredient transparency, safety, and labeling as nearly 270 agricultural, food, beverage and retail organizations warn that an expanding patchwork of state regulations could increase grocery costs, complicate interstate commerce and disrupt food supply chains.
Americans for Ingredient Transparency, or AFIT, announced Thursday that 269 industry organizations sent a letter to congressional leaders urging lawmakers to act this year on legislation establishing a single national framework for food ingredient review, use and labeling.
The appeal comes amid growing congressional interest in food labeling and ingredient oversight. During a July 22 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee meeting, Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he was pursuing “a national uniform standard for food regulations, rather than a patchwork of widely different state laws.”
