Food Date Labeling Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3981 To establish requirements for quality and discard dates that are, at the option of food labelers, included in food packaging, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 25, 2019 Ms. PINGREE (for herself and Mr. NEWHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish requirements for quality and discard dates that are, at the option of food labelers, included in food packaging, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Date Labeling 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3981 IH (1) ADMINISTERING SECRETARIES.—The term 1 ‘‘administering Secretaries’’ means— 2 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture with re- 3 spect to any product that is under the Sec- 4 retary of Agriculture’s jurisdiction and is— 5 (i) a poultry product, as defined in 6 section 4 of the Poultry Products Inspec- 7 tion Act (21 U.S.C. 453); 8 (ii) a meat food product, as defined in 9 section 1 of the Federal Meat Inspection 10 Act (21 U.S.C. 601); or 11 (iii) an egg product, as defined in sec- 12 tion 4 of the Egg Products Inspection Act 13 (21 U.S.C. 1033); and 14 (B) the Secretary of Health and Human 15 Services with respect to any product that is 16 under the Secretary of Health and Human 17 Services’ jurisdiction and is a food (as defined 18 in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 19 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)). 20 (2) DISCARD DATE.—The term ‘‘discard date’’ 21 means a date voluntarily printed on food packaging, 22 which signifies the end of the estimated period of 23 shelf life under any stated storage conditions, after 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3981 IH which the food labeler advises the product not be 1 consumed. 2 (3) FOOD LABELER.—The term ‘‘food labeler’’ 3 means the producer, manufacturer, distributor, or 4 retailer that places a date label on food packaging 5 of a product. 6 (4) QUALITY DATE.—The term ‘‘quality date’’ 7 means a date voluntarily printed on food packaging 8 that is intended to communicate to consumers the 9 date after which— 10 (A) the quality of the product may begin 11 to deteriorate; but 12 (B) the product remains apparently whole- 13 some food (as defined in subsection (b)(2) of 14 section 22 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 15 (42 U.S.C. 1791(b)(2)); also known as the Bill 16 Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act). 17 SEC. 3. QUALITY DATES AND DISCARD DATES. 18 (a) QUALITY DATES.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a food labeler includes a 20 quality date on food packaging, the label shall use 21 the uniform quality date label phrase under para- 22 graph (2). 23 (2) UNIFORM PHRASE.—The uniform quality 24 date label phrase under this paragraph shall be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3981 IH ‘‘BEST If Used By’’ or, if permissible under sub- 1 section (c)(3), the standard abbreviation of ‘‘BB’’, 2 unless and until the administering Secretaries, act- 3 ing jointly, specify through rulemaking another uni- 4 form phrase to be used for purposes of complying 5 with paragraph (1). 6 (3) OPTION OF THE LABELER.—The decisions 7 on whether to include a quality date on food pack- 8 aging and which foods should be so labeled shall be 9 at the discretion of the food labeler. 10 (b) DISCARD DATES.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a food labeler includes a 12 discard date on food packaging, the label shall use 13 the uniform discard date label phrase under para- 14 graph (2). 15 (2) UNIFORM PHRASE.—The uniform discard 16 date label phrase under this paragraph shall be 17 ‘‘USE By’’ or, if permissible under subsection 18 (c)(3), the standard abbreviation of ‘‘UB’’, unless 19 and until the administering Secretaries, acting joint- 20 ly, specify through rulemaking another uniform 21 phrase to be used for purposes of complying with 22 paragraph (1). 23 (3) OPTION OF THE LABELER.—The decisions 24 on whether to include a discard date on food pack- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3981 IH aging and which foods should be so labeled shall be 1 at the discretion of the food labeler. 2 (c) QUALITY DATE AND DISCARD DATE LABEL- 3 ING.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The quality date or discard 5 date, as applicable, and immediately adjacent uni- 6 form quality date label phrase or discard date label 7 phrase— 8 (A) shall be— 9 (i) in single easy-to-read type style; 10 and 11 (ii) located in a conspicuous place on 12 the package of the food; and 13 (B) may be on the label or, at the discre- 14 tion of the food labeler, elsewhere on the pack- 15 age. 16 (2) DATE FORMAT.—Each quality date and dis- 17 card date shall be stated in terms of day and month 18 and, as appropriate, year. 19 (3) ABBREVIATIONS.—A food labeler may use a 20 standard abbreviation of ‘‘BB’’ and ‘‘UB’’ for the 21 quality date and discard date, respectively, only if 22 the food packaging is too small to include the uni- 23 form phrase described in subsection (a)(2) or (b)(2), 24 as applicable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3981 IH (4) FREEZE BY.—A food labeler may add ‘‘or 1 Freeze By’’ following a quality date or discard date 2 uniform phrase. 3 (d) INFANT FORMULA.—This Act and the amend- 4 ments made by this Act— 5 (1) do not apply with respect to infant formula 6 (as defined in section 201(z) of the Federal Food, 7 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(z))); and 8 (2) shall not be construed to affect the require- 9 ments pertaining to infant formula under section 10 412 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 11 (21 U.S.C. 350a) and other applicable provisions of 12 law. 13 (e) EDUCATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 14 date of enactment of this Act, the administering Secre- 15 taries, acting jointly, shall provide consumer education 16 and outreach on the meaning of quality date and discard 17 date food labels. 18 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION; PREEMPTION.— 19 (1) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 20 Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be 21 construed to prohibit any State or political subdivi- 22 sion of a State from establishing or continuing in ef- 23 fect any requirement that prohibits the sale or dona- 24 tion of foods based on passage of the discard date. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3981 IH (2) PREEMPTION.—No State or political sub- 1 division of a State may establish or continue in ef- 2 fect any requirement that— 3 (A) relates to the inclusion in food labeling 4 of a quality date or a discard date that is dif- 5 ferent from or in addition to, or that is other- 6 wise not identical with, the requirements of this 7 Act and the amendments made by this Act; or 8 (B) prohibits the sale or donation of foods 9 based on passage of the quality date. 10 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The administering Secre- 11 taries, acting jointly and in coordination with the 12 Federal Trade Commission, shall ensure that the 13 uniform quality date label phrase and uniform dis- 14 card date label phrase are standardized across all 15 food products. 16 (4) SAVINGS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), 17 nothing in this Act, nor any amendment made by 18 this Act, nor any standard or requirement imposed 19 pursuant to this Act, shall be construed to preempt, 20 displace, or supplant any State or Federal common 21 law rights or any State or Federal statute creating 22 a remedy for civil relief, including those for civil 23 damage, or a penalty for criminal conduct. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3981 IH (g) TIME TEMPERATURE INDICATOR LABELS.— 1 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act 2 shall be construed to prohibit or restrict the use of time- 3 temperature indicator labels or similar technology that is 4 in addition to or in lieu of any uniform quality date label 5 phrase under subsection (a)(2) or uniform discard date 6 label phrase under subsection (b)(2). 7 SEC. 4. MISBRANDING. 8 (a) FDA VIOLATIONS.—Section 403 of the Federal 9 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is amend- 10 ed by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(z) If it is food and its labeling is in violation of 12 section 3 of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2019.’’. 13 (b) POULTRY PRODUCTS.—Section 4(h) of the Poul- 14 try Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 453(h)) is amend- 15 ed— 16 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 17 end; 18 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at 19 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(13) if its labeling is in violation of section 3 22 of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2019.’’. 23 (c) MEAT PRODUCTS.—Section 1(n) of the Federal 24 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601(n)) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3981 IH (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 1 end; 2 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at 3 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(13) if its labeling is in violation of section 3 6 of the Food Date Labeling Act of 2019.’’. 7 (d) EGG PRODUCTS.—Section 7(b) of the Egg Prod- 8 ucts Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1036(b)) is amended in 9 the first sentence by adding before the period at the end 10 ‘‘or if its labeling is in violation of section 3 of the Food 11 Date Labeling Act of 2019’’. 12 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 13 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 14 of this Act, the Secretaries, acting jointly, shall promul- 15 gate final regulations for carrying out the provisions of 16 this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 17 SEC. 6. DELAYED APPLICABILITY. 18 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 19 apply only with respect to food products that are labeled 20 on or after the date that is 2 years after the date of pro- 21 mulgation of final regulations under section 5. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3981.IH H3981 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS