Consumer Safety/ Food Safety/ Import Safety

September 2007

BNA's Web Watch is prepared by Laura Gordon-Murnane. E-mail suggestions for future weekly topics always welcome.

Federal Government

Pending Legislation
CPSC Reform Act of 2007

Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act (S. 1847)
Title: A bill to reauthorize the Consumer Product Safety Act, and for other purposes.
Status
Summary and Status

Children's Products Safety Act of 2007 (Introduced in Senate)
Children's Product Safety Act (S. 1833)
Status
Bill Summary and Status

Food and Drug Administration Act of 2007” (H.R. 3580)
Title: To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise and extend the user-fee programs for prescription drugs and for medical devices, to enhance the postmarket authorities of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to the safety of drugs, and for other purposes.
Status
Bill Summary and Status

Dingell Releases Draft Legislation to Improve Safety of Imported Food and Drugs
The Committee is conducting a broad investigation into the safety of the nation’s food and drug supply, particularly the declining ability of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct inspections and perform laboratory analysis...
News Release
Text of the Discussion Draft (pdf)
Summary of the Discussion Draft (pdf)

Congressional Hearings
Protecting Children from Lead-Tainted Imports
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Connect to the Archived Video Webcast of this Hearing
Windows Media Player is required to view Committee Web casts.

Panel I
Dana Best, M.D., M.P.H.
American Academy of Pediatrics

Olivia D. Farrow, Esq., R.S.
Assistant Commissioner
Division of Environmental Health
Baltimore City Health Department
 
Michael Green
Executive Director
Center for Environmental Health

Lori Wallach
Director
Global Trade Watch

Mary Teagarden
Professor of Global Strategy
Thunderbird School of Global Management

Panel II
Carter Keithley
President
Toy Industry Association, Inc.

Allen Thompson
Vice President, Global Supply Chain Policy
Retail Industry Leaders Association

Michael Gale
Fashion Jewelry Trade Association

Gary E. Knell
CEO and President
Sesame Workshop

Kathie Morgan
Vice President, Technical Committee Operations
ATSM International

Protecting Children from Lead-Tainted Imports
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Connect to the Archived Video Webcast of this Hearing

Panel I
The Honorable Nancy A. Nord
Acting Chairman
Consumer Product Safety Commission

The Honorable Thomas H. Moore
Commissioner
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Panel II
Mr. Robert A. Eckert
Chairman and CEO
Mattel Inc.

Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services And General Government Hearing (September 12, 2007)
Hearing on Toy Safety

Durbin Hearing on Toy Safety Focuses on Problems with Chinese Imports
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Includes Timeline on Durbin’s Efforts on Consumer Safety

Listening Session on the Safety of Chinese Imports: Oversight and Analysis of the Federal Response Full Committee
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 10:00 AM
SR - 253 View Archive Webcast

Witnesses (Provided by the National Association of Manufacturers)
National Association of Manufacturers

Consumer Product Safety Commission

American Enterprise Institute

Consumers Union

Center for Science in the Public Interest

Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
Legislation to Improve Consumer Product Safety for Children: H.R. 2474, H.R. 1699, H.R. 814, and H.R. 1721 (June 6, 2007)
Connect to the Archived Video Webcast of this Hearing

Panel I
The Honorable Nancy A. Nord
Acting Chairman
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Accompanied by CPSC staff:
Jacqueline Elder, Director of the Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction, and John “Gib” Mullan, Director of the Office of the Compliance and Field Operations

Ms. Sally Greenberg
Senior Product Safety Counsel
Consumers Union

Mr. Edmund Mierzwinski
Consumer Program Director
United States Public Interest Research Group

Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
Protecting Our Children: Current Issues in Children's Product Safety (May 15, 2007)
Connect to the Archived Video Webcast of this Hearing

Panel I
The Honorable Nancy A. Nord
Acting Chairman
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Panel II
Mr. Alan Korn
Director of Public Policy and General Counsel
Safe Kids Worldwide

Ms. Rachel Weintraub
Director of Product Safety and Senior Counsel
Consumer Federation of America

Mr. Frederick B. Locker, Esq.
General Counsel to the Toy Industry
Association
Locker, Brainin and Greenberg

Ms. Marla Felcher
Adjunct Lecturer, Kennedy School
Harvard University

Mr. James A. Thomas
President
ASTM International

Ms. Nancy Cowles
Executive Director
Kids In Danger

CRS Reports
Food Safety: Selected Issues and Bills in the 110th  Congress (September 4, 2007)

White House
Press Briefing on Import Safety by Heath and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and National Economic Director Al Hubbard

Federal Agencies

Consumer Protection Safety Commission
U.S. and Chinese Product Safety Agencies Announce Agreement To Improve The Safety of Imported Toys and Other Consumer Products (September 12, 2007)

Agreement
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China  
Joint Statement On Enhancing Consumer Product Safety (September 11, 2007)

U.S.-Sino Safety Summit Private Sector Panel
Carter Keithley Remarks

Consumer Products Safety Commission
U.S.-Chinese Product Safety Agency Agreement on Imported Product Safety
Second U.S.-Sino Safety Summit: Importer Responsibilities (pdf)
Second U.S.-Sino Safety Summit: Product Working Group plans (pdf)
Information, Regulations and Guidance about Lead in Consumer Products
June-Sept 2007 Mattel, Fisher-Price, RC2 Recalls

The Interagency Working Group on Import Safety
Protecting Americans Every Step of the Way: A strategic framework for continual improvement in import safety (September 10, 2007)
(PDF)

Immediate Actions
Public Comment
Statements of Working Group Members

Nongovernment Organizations

Food & Water Watch
Import Alert: Government Fails Consumers, Falls Short on Seafood Inspection

Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)
Commitment to Consumers: The Four Pillars of Food Safety

Progressive Policy Institute
PPI | Policy Report | September 7, 2007
Spoiled: Keeping Tainted Food Off America's Tables
By Jessica Milano
http://www.ppionline.org/documents/Spoiled_090707.pdf

Public Citizen
Trade Deficit in Food Safety: Proposed NAFTA Expansions Replicate Limits On U.S. Food Safety Policy That Are Contributing To Unsafe Food Imports (July 2007)

Rutgers University’s Food Policy Institute
Public Response to the Contaminated Spinach Recall of 2006
by C. L. Cuite, S. C. Condry, M. L. Nucci, W.K. Hallman.