Farmer Co-ops Applaud Introduction of the Accurate Labels Act

The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) praises introduction of legislation that will help ensure that consumer product labels are based on science and common sense.

The Accurate Labels Act (ALA), introduced in the Senate by Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and in the House by Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), would ensure that state and local labeling laws follow those two basic criteria.

“Consumers deserve clear, accurate and meaningful labels on the food and other products they buy," says Chuck Conner, president and CEO of NCFC. “In too many cases today, state laws like California’s Proposition 65 make this impossible; under that law, a profusion of labels based on dubious science means that consumers are confused and likely to treat the labels as visual white noise. The ALA will reestablish some common sense by making states and localities ‘show their work’ when setting out requirements for mandatory warning labels.”

The ALA has three main objectives:

• Establish science-based criteria for all new state and local labeling requirements by making states and localities document the science behind their proposed labeling mandates
• Allow state-mandated product information to be provided through SmartLabelTM and on web sites
• Ensure that covered product is risk-based