[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 821 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 821

         To establish requirements with respect to bisphenol A.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 19, 2015

  Mrs. Feinstein (for herself and Mr. Leahy) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To establish requirements with respect to bisphenol A.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``BPA in Food Packaging Right to Know 
Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO BISPHENOL A.

    (a) Regulation of Containers Composed of Bisphenol A.--
            (1) Safety assessment of products composed of bpa.--Not 
        later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
        the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this 
        Act as the ``Secretary'') shall issue a revised safety 
        assessment for food containers composed, in whole or in part, 
        of bisphenol A, taking into consideration different types of 
        such food containers and the use of such food containers with 
        respect to different foods, as appropriate.
            (2) Safety standard.--Through the safety assessment 
        described in paragraph (1), and taking into consideration the 
        requirements of section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
        Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 348) and section 170.3(i) of title 21, 
        Code of Federal Regulations, the Secretary shall determine 
        whether there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will 
        result from aggregate exposure to bisphenol A through food 
        containers or other items composed, in whole or in part, of 
        bisphenol A, taking into consideration potential adverse 
        effects from low dose exposure, and the effects of exposure on 
        vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, infants, 
        children, the elderly, and populations with high exposure to 
        bisphenol A, including workers who are exposed through 
        production practices or handling of final products.
            (3) Application of safety standard to alternatives.--The 
        Secretary shall use the safety standard described in paragraph 
        (2) to evaluate the proposed uses of alternatives to bisphenol 
        A.
    (b) Container Labeling.--
            (1) In general.--Section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
        Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is amended by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(z) If its container is composed, in whole or in part, of 
bisphenol A, unless the label includes the following statement: `This 
food packaging contains BPA, an endocrine-disrupting chemical, 
according to the National Institutes of Health.'.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
        Act.
    (c) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section (or the amendments 
made by this section) shall affect the right of a State, political 
subdivision of a State, or Indian tribe to adopt or enforce any 
regulation, requirement, liability, or standard of performance that is 
more stringent than a regulation, requirement, liability, or standard 
of performance under this section or that--
            (1) applies to a product category not described in this 
        section; or
            (2) requires the provision of a warning of risk, illness, 
        or injury associated with the use of food containers composed, 
        in whole or in part, of bisphenol A.
    (d) Definition.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) the term ``container'' includes the lining of a 
        container; and
            (2) the term ``food'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
        U.S.C. 321).
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