Assembly Bill A8706

                                BILL NUMBER:A8706

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in
relation to requiring warning labels  on  food  products  which  contain
sodium benzoate

PURPOSE  OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Relates to requiring warning labels on
food products which contain potassium benzoate.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:  Section one amends the agriculture  and
markets  law  by adding a new section 214-o to require warning labels on
food products containing sodium benzoate.

The warning label shall appear in a black  box  and  shall  contain  the
following  statement:  "WARNING:  The  artificial  food colorings and/or
preservatives used to process this food product  could  pose  a  serious
health hazard to children. Please use caution."

The set penalty is $1,000 per day of violation.

Section 2 makes the enactment date 120 days after it shall have become a
law, provided that all rules and regulations are set in place.

JUSTIFICATION:   The Assembly Standing Committee on Mental Health held a
public hearing on the dangers to children's health caused by  artificial
food  colorings  and  the preservative sodium benzoate and reviewed data
              

from the hearing and other research.

The public hearing and the proposed ban have been prompted by  a  recent
study  that  conclusively linked hyperactivity and attention span disor-
ders in children to their consumption of foods containing  both  artifi-
cial  food  colorings and the preservative sodium benzoate. The research
sponsored by the British equivalent of the FDA  and  published  recently
found  that attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in chil-
dren could be reduced by as much as 60% by eliminating those ingredients
from their diets.

All of the data points to the  need  for  warning  labels  on  all  food
products  containing  such  ingredients. This legislation will mandate a
black box warning and places large civil penalties on food manufacturers
that refuse to warn consumers on the  dangers  of  products  with  these
additives.

Since  1996  there  has  been  a 35% increase in the use of prescription
drugs to treat ADHD and the FDA has reported that in some elementary and
middle Schools as many as 6% of all students are on such drugs.  It  has
been  more  than  25  years  since the FDA and the National Institute on
Mental Health looked comprehensively at the impact of food additives  on
children's  health.  Today,  we  have  3,794 different additives used in
food, 3,640 of those are used purely for cosmetic purposes, 63 are  used
as preservatives.

This  proposed legislation would require a black box warning on all such
foods and places a $10,000 civil penalty  on  food  manufacturers  which
fail  to  place the warning label on food products sold that contain any
artificial food coloring and the preservative sodium benzoate.

Food  colorings  are  used  for purely cosmetic reasons and most parents
don't know they are made from coal  tar  and  petroleum,  substances  no
intended for human consumption.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New legislation

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:  None for the state
or local governments

EFFECTIVE  DATE:  This act takes effect 120 days after enactment as long
as all rules and regulations are set in place.