The Paraquat Prevention Act would cancel all EPA-registered uses of the herbicide and permanently prohibit its reregistration. More than 70 countries, including the EU and China, have banned the domestic use of paraquat, although China still manufactures and exports the chemical to the U.S.
As it stands, the bill would mandate that USDA provide guidance on HACCP plans to small and very small meat processors, require USDA and FDA to define “honey” and establish honey authenticity testing standards, and initiate other directives.
Following a high-profile, global recall of infant formulas due to cereulide contamination in early 2026, the European Commission is drafting an act that would introduce additional checks for the toxin in formulas.
The New York bill is awaiting the Governor’s signature, while the California bill advances from the Assembly to the Senate. The bills would require baby food and infant formula manufacturers to regularly test their products for toxic heavy metals and disclose results.
The virtual, interactive Community Conversation is based on the recent Congressional hearing on various active food safety-related bills. The discussion will take place on June 17.
On May 26, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law two bills related to food chemical safety; specifically, the nation’s first state-level ban on paraquat (H.739) and legislation setting heavy metals testing and disclosure requirements for baby food manufacturers (H.536).
Highlighting contaminated seafood as a particular concern, the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act answers FDA’s request for the authority to destroy food imports that do not pass safety inspections at the border, preventing importers from “port shopping” their unsafe products.
The bipartisan bill would prohibit the sale of “mislabeled” alternative protein products, requiring such products to bear “accurate” labels that clearly differentiate them from conventional meat and poultry.
New Mexico has published a final rule enforcing the New Mexico PFAS Protection Act, outlining a staggered prohibition on the sale of products containing intentionally added PFAS, and describing a PFAS warning label for products still containing the chemicals.
The Federal and State Food Safety Information Sharing Act of 2026 would give FDA the authority to shareinformation with state and local regulatory agencies with shared responsibility for protecting public health.
