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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Sunday, March 5, 2006
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National Uniformity for Food Act Considered
WASHINGTON, DC, (PRNewswire), March 5, 2006 - The U.S. House of Representatives has begun consideration of H.R. 4167, the National Uniformity for Food Act.
A vote on this important piece of legislation is expected as early as March 8. The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has issued a statement outlining the key provisions of the bill as well as clarifing areas of confusion.
What the Bill Does:
- Helps Consumers: Under the current regulatory system, each of the 50
states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can require
separate and conflicting food safety and warning information on packaged
foods, fostering confusion among consumers. H.R. 4167 is a common-sense
bill that would ensure that the FDA and the states work collaboratively
to develop a single set of food safety and warning standards that will
help consumers make educated decisions for themselves and their
families.
- Protects State's Rights: The National Uniformity for Food Act strikes
an important balance between states' rights and consumers' need for food
safety information that is consistent from state to state. In instances
where an existing state standard is different from the national
standard, any state can ask the FDA to either be exempted or to set the
state's standard as the national standard. While the FDA makes a final
determination -- based on the best-available science -- the state
standard remains in effect.
- Is Narrow in Scope: In contrast to the picture painted by opponents of
H.R. 4167, the bill is narrow and covers only food safety and warning
information for packaged food. Any other state food laws are exempt,
including those covering the sanitation of pecans and notices as to
whether fish is fresh or frozen, to cite two of the more esoteric
examples put forth by opponents of the bill.
- Keeps Sanitation and Inspections Local: Under the bill, states and
localities, not the FDA, will continue to conduct sanitation inspections
and enforce regulations covering food and milk preparation/service at
local establishments.
- Lets States Continue Shellfish Warnings: Under the bill, warnings
concerning the consumption of shellfish, important to many consumers,
are exempt. States remain free to require these warnings as they deem
appropriate.
- Raises the Bar: Under H.R. 4167, food safety standards would be based
on an expert, consensus review of the entire body of peer-reviewed,
published scientific literature, ensuring sound science, not politics or
fads, drive policy.
GMA member companies employ more than 2.5 million workers in all 50 states and account for more than $680 billion in sales.
Natural Gas Prices Remain Above Last Year's Price
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), March 5, 2006 - Concerns over escalating violence in Iraq, Nigerian and Ecuadorian oil supplies, and Iran's nuclear plans have helped oil prices recover about 8 percent since last week, when growing U.S. oil supplies pushed prices to a 2006 closing low of $57.65, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Natural gas and propane prices are lower, yet remain well above last year's prices at this time, the department's Energy Center reported in its Feb. 23 Energy Bulletin.
U.S. crude oil prices for April delivery on the NYMEX closed at $61.01 on Feb. 22, compared with $65.73 a month ago, on reports from the U.S. Department of Energy that supplies now stand at 29.7 million barrels above last year's level at this time. Crude prices remain strong, however, and are 19 percent higher than this time last year. Prices are being pressured higher following a failed terrorist attack on an oil processing facility in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Natural gas prices for March closed at $7.28 per MMBtu on Feb. 22,
down 16 percent from mid-January when closing prices were $8.69 per MMBtu.
Prices are falling due to the lower space heating demand across most of
the country, and working gas in storage that is nearly 48 percent above
the 5-year average.
Similarly, U.S. inventories of propane are higher than last year at this time at 40.4 million barrels. Propane supplies fell 3.1 million barrels last week due to a late-winter cold spell in many parts of the nation. Missouri's average propane prices fell slightly during the last month to $1.67 per gallon according to the Energy Center survey conducted on Feb. 20.
The average retail price for regular gasoline was $2.05 per gallon in
Missouri, down five percent from last month but 16 percent higher than
this time last year. Missouri's average remains below the Midwest ($2.17)
and U.S. ($2.24) average retail prices on Feb. 20. Missouri retail diesel
fuel prices increased by one cent since last month to an average retail
price of $2.36 per gallon.
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