Clinton to Sign New Food Safety Law

President Clinton will sign landmark food safety legislation creating a uniform rule for residues of cancer-causing chemicals, the White House said. The Food Quality Protection Act was passed by Congress in a bipartisan effort last month after more than a decade of acrimony over updating the food safety law. It repeals the 1958 Delaney clause, which banned any trace of cancer-causing pesticides in processed foods. The new standard, applying to raw and processed foods, would be a risk level of one in 1 million of cancer from a lifetime of exposure. In essence, the bill creates a standard of “no perceivable harm” whereas the Delaney clause did not tolerate even a trace of these pesticides.