Consumer Brands President and CEO Melissa Hockstad published an essay in a CQ Researcher Pro/Con column, addressing the question: Should states take the lead on regulating food safety?” 

Melissa provides the perspective that a national uniform standard for ingredient safety and transparency is needed to ensure experts and resources at federal agencies set the rules and deliver confidence to consumers across the country.

Read her full column below:

The makers of some of America’s most trusted household brands provide the food, beverage, household and personal care products consumers rely on every day without compromising on safety, value or convenience. They have always prioritized this commitment, and they always will.

How do they achieve this? By being agile, investing in technology and using peer-reviewed and credible scientific research to drive innovation to meet consumers’ ever-evolving preferences, such as foods with fewer preservatives, increased protein and fiber and no synthetic color additives.

Consumers should be able to make the choices that best fit their needs and, importantly, their budgets, while being confident that access to the safe, affordable and convenient brands they rely on won’t be interrupted. Which is why the recent state patchwork of food and beverage regulations could have far-reaching impacts on consumers by creating confusion, increasing costs and undermining trust. Consumer health and safety is a national interest and should not shift across state lines.

A national uniform standard for ingredient safety and disclosure would ensure experts and resources at federal agencies set the rules and deliver confidence to consumers, no matter what state they live in. Those assurances would also help keep the 22.3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs supported by the consumer-packaged goods industry in communities across the country.

Food and beverage manufacturers also understand consumers want more information about the ingredients in their favorite brands and have made significant investments to enhance consumer transparency. Industry-backed initiatives like Consumer Brands’ SmartLabel and Facts up Front put the information consumers want directly in their hands, keeping the power to choose what is best for themselves and their families squarely within their control. Consumer Brands’ Food Processing Facts website is another resource for fact-based information and resources about the benefits of food processing and objective information about ingredients.

To truly make America healthy again, we urge the Trump administration and Congress to support one trusted regulator responsible for ingredient safety and transparency. A single source of standards will enable companies to continue to innovate and evolve alongside the consumer while supporting millions of jobs. For the benefit of all Americans, we support a federal uniform standard over a patchwork of differing state laws.