Chemical Contamination of Food

April 1, 1981 Resolutions

Number: 1981-19

 

WHEREAS, persistent environmental contaminants, such as Kepone, PCBs, DDT, and PBBs, have caused widespread contamination of seafood and other components of the human food chain; and

WHEREAS, 18 state governments and the Federal Government have had to take regulatory action in connection with at least 88 food contamination episodes during the 1968-78 period; and

WHEREAS, neither the Federal Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) nor state health departments have established mechanisms for systematically screening seafood products and other food materials for the presence of chemical contaminants in harmful amounts; and

WHEREAS, “action levels” and “tolerances” have not been established at all for many significant contaminants, such as cadmium and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons; and

WHEREAS, those “action levels” and “tolerances” which have been set by the FDA often fail to adequately protect important sub-populations with above average seafood intakes or of above average sensitivity to contaminants, such as fishermen and pregnant women, respectively; and

WHEREAS, an “early warning” system for detection of chemical contamination of the food chain is necessary to safeguard the health and welfare of humans and other predators;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 26-29, 1981, in Norfolk, Virginia, hereby urges the FDA, legislatures, and State Departments of Health, and, if necessary, the Congress of the United States and state legislatures to expeditiously adopt and implement the following measures within their respective jurisdictions:

  1. The establishment of a comprehensive “early warning” screening system for detection of chemical contamination of seafood and other components of the human food chain, in a manner which will allow detection and elimination of the contamination source(s) and will avoid the need to ban the consumption of the food resources on a widespread basis; and
  2. The development and adoption of “action levels” and “tolerances” for human foods for all chemical contaminants found to be present in measurable amounts in human body tissues and in the food supply, specifically including cadmium and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons; and
  3. The modification of standard-setting procedures for food contaminants to ensure greater protection of sub-populations subject to increased exposure or enhanced sensitivity to such contaminants.