Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Carbon Monoxide Treated Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Safe Handling, Labeling, and Consumer Protection Act

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)It is well documented in the published literature that consumers rely heavily on color to evaluate the freshness of meat, poultry and seafood products. (2)The Secretary of Health and Human Services has accepted the use of carbon monoxide in modified atmosphere packaging for fresh beef and pork to help maintain the characteristic red color of fresh meat. (3)The Secretary of Health and Human Services has allowed the use of carbon monoxide under conditions that affect the color of case-ready fresh cuts of poultry and ground poultry. (4)The Secretary of Health and Human Services has accepted the use of carbon monoxide for use on raw tuna, before it is frozen, to preserve its taste, aroma, texture, and color. (5)Carbon monoxide reacts with myoglobin in fresh meat, poultry, and seafood, to form carboxymyoglobin that simulates the color that consumers associate with freshness and safety in fresh meat, poultry and seafood. (6)The color imparted by carbon monoxide persists in meat, poultry and seafood packaged with carbon monoxide regardless of the age of the meat, poultry, or seafood, its microbial count, or whether it has been exposed to temperature abuse, and the browning consumers have come to associate with meat, poultry or seafood that may not be fit to consume will not occur. (7)Congressional investigators recently reported that at the port of San Francisco, California, a significant proportion of the seafood products offered for import have been treated with carbon monoxide to affect the color so as to give the appearance of freshness, yet twenty percent of the carbon monoxide-treated seafood has been refused entry as decomposed. (8)It is well documented in the published literature that ideal temperature control is not consistently maintained in the course of distribution, storage, and retail and consumer handling of fresh meat, poultry, and seafood products, and that serious microbial stability problems exist because of the frequency of temperature abuse. (9)The use of carbon monoxide under conditions affecting the color of meat, poultry, and seafood products is not currently required to be labeled with adequate information and warnings such that consumers have no way of knowing that they cannot rely on color to judge the freshness and safety of meat, poultry, and seafood products packaged with carbon monoxide. (10)Date labeling is not adequate to overcome the loss to consumers of color as a key freshness and safety indicator, and such date labeling becomes irrelevant once meat, poultry, or seafood has been subjected to temperature abuse or frozen and subsequently defrosted. (11)The amendments made by this Act are necessary to prevent consumer deception and serious risks to the public health from foodborne illness that may occur if consumers purchase and consume meat, poultry, or seafood products that have become spoiled or otherwise unfit for consumption, where consumers were led to think the meat, poultry, or seafood was fresh and safe based upon its color. The amendments will benefit in particular the elderly and other vulnerable subpopulations whose sense of smell may be compromised and who cannot rely on odor as an indicator of spoilage, and others who may be particularly susceptible to illness from consumption of meat, poultry, or seafood products that have spoiled.

Labeling requirements for meat, poultry products, and seafood that contain carbon monoxide

(a)

In general

Subsection (t) of section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(t)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

(4)In the case of food that is meat within the meaning of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, a poultry product within the meaning of the Poultry Products Inspection Act, or seafood (including all fresh or saltwater finfish, molluscan shellfish, crustaceans, and other forms of aquatic animal life) intended for human consumption as food within the meaning of section 201(f) of this Act (referred to collectively in this subsection as seafood), the term color additive shall include carbon monoxide under conditions of use that may impart, maintain, preserve, stabilize, fix, or otherwise affect the color of fresh meat, poultry products, or seafood, unless the label of such food bears, prominently and conspicuously in such place and in such manner as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary person, the following statement to prevent consumer deception and serious risks to the public health: SAFETY NOTICE: Carbon monoxide has been used to preserve the color of this product. Do not rely on color or the use or freeze by date alone to judge the freshness or safety of the product. Discard any product with an unpleasant odor, slime, or a bulging package.

(b)

Effective date

The amendment made by this section shall apply to food labeled on or after the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Discretionary authority

If, not earlier than five years after the effective date of section 3 of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services finds, based on competent and reliable scientific evidence, that the statement prescribed in section 201(t)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is no longer required to prevent consumer deception and other harms, then the Secretary is authorized to issue regulations establishing alternative labeling requirements that are shown to be adequate and effective in preventing consumer deception and other harms related to the conditions of use of carbon monoxide, including with respect to preventing any consumer deception or other harm that may result from the actual conditions of carbon monoxide use and its potential to impart a persistent color to meat, poultry products, or seafood described in such section through a reaction with natural pigment.