Pure Foods Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Pure Foods Act - Declares it to be the purpose of this Act to regulate the safe and efficient manufacturing, processing, and packing of food for sale in interstate commerce by establishing a system for registering and licensing food manufacturers, processors, and packers and authorizing recall and other emergency procedures. Provides for the registration and licensing by the Secretary of Commerce of all persons engaged in the manufacture, processing, or packing of any class of food distributed in interstate commerce. Authorizes the Secretary to license persons registered under this Act for a period of two years. Provides that the Secretary shall grant a license or a renewal of a license only after: (1) the applicant furnishes the Secretary with the name, location, and principle place of his business; (2) the applicant provides the Secretary with a complete list of all foods manufactured, processed, or packaged at his establishment; (3) the applicant for a license informs the Secretary of the process which is employed in preparing foods to be shipped in interstate commerce; and (4) each establishment of the applicant for a license is inspected to insure that the applicant has established all necessary procedures for producing food which is not adulterated. Provides that a licensee shall be required: (1) to process any food he is licensed to produce in containers as required by the Secretary; (2) to retain processing records on all foods manufactured, processed, or packed for a period of not less than five years; (3) to set aside the lot or lots of any food which is believed to have been improperly manufactured, processed, or packed for further evaluation as to any potential health hazard and upon completion of such evaluation to report to the Secretary within seven days in advance of any distribution of the whole or any part of the lot involved; (4) to report to the Secretary any and all instances of manufacturing, processing, or packaging which may pose a potential public health hazard where any lot has in whole or in part entered the stream of interstate commerce; (5) to open all records to inspection; (6) to include as standard equipment on all processing machines adequate sterilizing equipment, temperature, and time control devices and any other equipment the Secretary deems appropriate and to establish warning devices which shall alert the licensee when such equipment is not properly functioning; (7) to meet any educational requirements set by the Secretary for persons working in such plants; (8) to establish a scheme of insuring itself against losses due to the improper manufacturing, processing, or packaging of food sold in interstate commerce as applicable regulation established by the Secretary; and (9) to follow each applicable regulation established by the Secretary under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to revoke the license of any licensee for violation of the regulations or requirements of this Act according to due process and after a formal investigation. Requires the Secretary to coordinate his activities with those of the relevant State agencies, and to establish a program for the effective correlation and response to information submitted by the public. Provides, upon notification by a licensee or upon reasonable information of a violation involving food in interstate commerce, that the Secretary shall undertake an emmergency investigation to determine the potential public health hazard, and shall make known the results of his investigation to the manufacturers, processers, and packers involved, and also to the public. Authorizes the Secretary, upon determination of a significant potential public health hazard, to recall all or part of the hazardous shipment; embargo any food produced by the violators of the regulations; and suspend the license of any person responsible for the significant potential public health hazard. Increases criminal penalties and provides that any person violating any provision of this section shall be liable to a civil penalty to the United States of a sum which is not more than $10,000 for each such violation. (Amends 21 U.S.C. 344)
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 3, 1973. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 3, 1973: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JONATHAN BINGHAM (D-NY) introduced it on January 3, 1973, and 24 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 22 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 3, 1973, 19655 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19655 days ago, on January 3, 1973.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers